The Seattle Seahawks were awarded a win over the visiting Minnesota Vikings last night. The score was 21-7 but it isn't at all indicative of the game that was played.
With Seattle clinging to a 6-0 lead with 5:46 to play, the game turned the Seahawks way on a 47-yard field goal attempt by the Vikings. At the snap, Seahawks linebacker Bobby Wagner leaped over the line and blocked the kick. The play would've been as magnificent as Wagner claimed it to be if he hadn't placed his hands on his teammates to help propel himself over the line. That's illegal and a flag was throw. However, sometime between throwing the flag and enforcing the penalty the officials decided that there was no penalty. Instead of the Vikings having a 1st-and-10 inside the 15-yard line the Seahawks had the ball. The officials handed the Seahawks another prime time win.
When asked about the illegal play that turned the game, Wagner and head coach Pete Carroll both spoke to how often the linebacker was able to successfully make that play in practice. No one gives a shit if he can do it in practice. He didn't do it legally in the game and the Seahawks were rewarded for it.
The official bungling that has repeatedly benefited the Seahawks in prime time games started in 2012 with the "fail mary" call by the replacement officials. The current state of officiating in the NFL has me looking fondly on the days of the replacement officials.
The Vikings loss to the Seahawks isn't entirely on one officiating blunder. For the first three quarters the offense did nothing. They didn't cross midfield until six minutes remained in the third quarter. After that they spent a lot of time on the Seahawks side of the field but they kept blowing scoring opportunities, including a 1st-and-goal from the 4.
There's a lively debate in Vikings land over whether the recent offensive woes are the fault of play-calling or execution. As with most such debates, the answer is somewhere in the middle. Personally, I think that the blame leans toward execution because the offensive line play has been horrible. The blocking has been shaky all season but it has been even worse in recent weeks. Tight end David Morgan has been out the last three weeks with a knee injury. He's been missed. It's a bit sad when a team's best blocker is a tight end but Morgan is a tough, tenacious, high effort blocker. He consistently keeps himself between the defender and their target. That's a very good thing and his absence is a very bad thing. Hopefully, he can get back on the field soon.
One missing blocking tight end isn't the sole source of the Vikings' offensive problems. Even with a modest, at best, offensive line there's too much talent on this offense to struggle so often. They have to get back the timing and rhythm that they have shown for stretches. Kirk Cousins has too ignore the defenders that are around him. He's an NFL quarterback that's being paid to be a difference-maker. When he's been at his best this season he's trusted his receivers. It doesn't look like he trusts anything right now.
As shaky as Cousins was for about 3.5 quarters he still outplayed Russell Wilson.
Cousins:
20/33
208 yards
1 TD
89.0 rating
Wilson:
10/20
72 yards
1 interception
37.9 rating
You look at that and there's no way the Seahawks win, let alone win by two scores.
Wilson's interception was an idiot play to avoid a sack just before the half. He blindly flung the ball away. He probably should've been a little more concerned with where he flung the ball because it went right to Vikings linebacker Eric Kendricks. If Kendricks hadn't bobbled the catch there's a real good chance that he could've returned it about 90 yards for a touchdown.
The Vikings had their chances.
At 6-6-1 the Vikings are still holding a playoff spot. Three games (Miami, @ Detroit, Chicago) remain. They can win those games. The defense is playing like a playoff team. The offense is not. If they can't get something going on offense their playoff presence, if there is one, will be brief.
One final thing on the Seahawks. They have been using the "12th Man" moniker for nearly two decades. It's pathetic. The term has been a Texas A&M thing for more than a century. That predates the NFL. The Seahawks have some sort of financial agreement with the Aggies to make it ok. If you have to purchase from another the thing that makes you you maybe you should find another name. This lack of originality by the Seahawks reminds me of Edward Norton's sad sack bad guy in The Italian Job.
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