Vikings come up short in Seattle on MNF

The Minnesota Vikings put up one heck of a fight on Monday Night Football in Seattle. But they eventually lost to the Seahawks by a score of 30-37.
Minnesota Vikings 30 Seattle Seahawks 37
Minnesota:
QB:
K. Cousins 22/38 276 yds 2 TD 1 INT 87.2 rtg
RB:
D. Cook 9 car 29 yds 3.2 avg 1 TD 64 total yds 1 fumble
A. Mattison 4 car 22 yds 5.5 avg 73 total yds
C. Ham 42 total yds 1 fumble
WR:
L. Treadwell 1 rec 58 yds 58.0 avg 1 TD
K. Rudolph 4 rec 50 yds 12.5 avg 1 TD
S. Diggs 4 rec 25 yds 6.3 avg
K:
D. Bailey 1/1 FG 47 long 3/4 XP
DEF:
D. Hunter 1 sack
I. Odenigbo 1 sack
A. Harris 1 INT 1 TD

Game Recap:
Well, now that I have had a morning to process the game, I feel I am better suited to recap this game. First thing I will say is that this loss does not rest on Kirk Cousins' shoulders. No matter what anyone says, I believe that Cousins did the best he could do against the Seahawks and did not lose the game for the Vikes. There were other things that lost the game for the Vikes. The QB cannot win the game for the team if special teams and defense are not holding up their end of the deal. 
Special teams has been a particularly tricky unit the last few games, especially this game and the last game at home against Denver. They have fumbled at least 5 times in the last 3 games. This is not acceptable for a unit that their only job is to return punts and kicks. Zimmer needs to tighten up on this unit this week before Sunday because their effort is not cutting it. Now I will say its not the entire unit. The punter, Britton Colquitt, is actually performing quite well. He is in the top 5 in the NFL for average yards per punt. The Vikings historically have been good at fielding punters. Dan Bailey has also been good this season. Obviously he missed an extra point last night that almost seemed to take the wind out of the sails of the defense. They could no longer hold Seattle because they knew if they scored anything the game was likely over. But Bailey has only missed 2 field goals all season. Very different from his seven last season. Now he has missed quite a few extra points but that is far different then field goals. 
The defense had a tricky night. They performed quite well in the first half and a good portion of the third quarter. But when the offense started to sputter, so did the defense. I am hoping this is the low point for Xavier Rhodes because on Seattle's second to last touchdown last night, both Rhodes and Smith were arguing with each other and very confused. This cannot happen anymore. Either Rhodes needs to figure out how to play football again or we need to replace him. I know it is very extreme but Rhodes needs to figure it out otherwise he will not have a job in Minnesota next season. But other then that, the defense provided the offense some spark in the first half, and brought the Vikings out front before halftime as the score was 17-10 Vikings at the end of the first half. 
But obviously it didn't play out like that. Now this isn't absolutely terrible. The Vikings did dodge a bullet in the middle of the third quarter when Dalvin Cook fumbled on a first and 10, and both Cook and Diggs were down with an injury just 5 yards apart. It appeared on the Seahawks defenders stepped awkwardly on Diggs' foot and Cook appeared to have injured his shoulder in the tackle. But both players did come back later in the game. Diggs was ready again on the next offensive possession and Cook when to the locker room briefly before returning to the bench. Cook did not return to the field though. 

NFC North Update
So this week the Packers won in New York and Chicago beat Detroit on Thanksgiving. This eliminates Detroit from playoff contention and keeps Chicago in the hunt. Green Bay still has first place in the division after the Vikings lost. Minnesota is now 1 game out of the division tie. Still both teams are headed for a collision course in Minneapolis in Week 16 when the two teams play again. Chicago still looms in the vicinity, and is just a game behind the Rams in the hunt for the playoffs. 

Playoff Picture
Now after this week the playoff picture did shake up quite a bit. San Francisco lost to Baltimore on Sunday so they fell to 10-2. New Orleans won over Atlanta on Thursday night to jump to 10-2. Seattle won over Minnesota to leap-frog over San Francisco for the division lead. New Orleans then is bumped up to the #1 seed and Seattle takes over as #2. Green Bay now falls to the 3 seed and Dallas remains as the 4 after Philadelphia lost to Miami. The Vikings still have a big shot at a division title and home playoff game. If the Vikings win out they will most likely have the 3 seed or better but will most likely play Green Bay in the first round. However both teams need to keep winning so that the Rams and Bears stay out of the playoffs. The Rams are only one game out of tying the Vikings for the final wild-card spot and the Bears are only 2 games back and they would have the tie-break over Minnesota because of their meeting in Chicago in Week 4. Big picture: the Vikings need to keep winning!
Correction: Green Bay would still claim the division crown if both teams keep winning (except for their meeting in week 16). They would win this because of division winning percentage. Therefore, the Vikings need Green Bay to lose a game besides their meeting at US Bank in order to take the division title. This goes back to how bad our start was this season. It hurts and it matters. 

Up Next
The Vikings will now return home from their toughest stretch of the season. They play the Lions on Sunday at US Bank Stadium. Kickoff is at 12 PM CT. 

​#SKOL