Dec 22, 2024; Seattle, Washington, USA; Minnesota Vikings safety Josh Metellus (44) poses for a photo following a Seattle Seahawks turnover during the fourth quarter at Lumen Field. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images.
On Sunday, the Minnesota Vikings failed to lock down the opposition against the Seattle Seahawks and Geno Smith. Smith could move the ball through the air, and with 43 passing attempts, Mike Macdonald called on him to do so early and often. Then, the Vikings defense showed up.
Brian Flores should have felt confident about his unit. He got Stephon Gilmore back to anchor the secondary, and the group is relatively healthy overall. Unfortunately, star safety Harrison Smith wound up truly being a gametime decision and was unable to go. It would be difficult to suggest his lack of presence wasn’t felt.
The Seahawks possess a talented stable of wide receivers. D.K. Metcalf is truly an imposing presence, and he made that known early. Gilmore was the subject to be picked on, and Metcalf outmuscled him on multiple routes. One led to a touchdown, and it appeared as though the Vikings might have struggled to corral the Seattle passing attack.
Smith completed 31 passes on the day and was able to put the ball in the end zone on three separate occasions. For a good portion of the game, there appeared to be little resistance when forcing the Seattle quarterback to work.
Then came the late-game clamp-down.
Although the Vikings continued to dial up pressure and attempted to bring down the quarterback, they couldn’t get home. Then Andrew Van Ginkel broke through. The edge rusher got to Smith and sacked him for the first time as the game drew towards a close. He quickly followed up with a second one, and the Vikings’ defense appeared to have figured something out.
After taking back a late lead and Smith looking to answer with a comeback, fill-in safety Theo Jackson picked off a pass and sealed the victory. It was truly a bend-but-don’t-break type of performance, and it was everything Minnesota needed. There have been much more dominant showings by this defense, but the Vikings did what they needed to for a win on Sunday.
There should be a growing level of belief in this unit, and each performance suggests that they have multiple ways to get the job done.
Ted Schwerzler is a blogger from the Twin Cities that is focused on all things Minnesota Twins and Minnesota Vikings. He’s active on Twitter and writes daily for Minnesota Sports Fan. As a former college athlete and avid sports fan, covering our pro teams with a passion has always seemed like such a natural outlet.