Seahawks sunk by late pick, stacks of sacks
Marcus Sherels intercepted Trevone Boykin’s pass and returned it 53 yards for a touchdown with 1:23 left and the Minnesota Vikings beat the Seattle Seahawks 18-11 on Thursday night.
With Boykin trying to lead Seattle to another late comeback for a second straight week, Sherels stepped in front of his pass intended for E.Z. Nwachukwu and went untouched for the deciding score. Seattle had pulled even at 11-11 when Troymaine Pope scored on a four-yard touchdown run with 12:49 left after his 27-yard run got the Seahawks deep in Minnesota territory, and Steven Hauschka’s 49-yard field goal followed later in the fourth quarter.
Boykin got Seattle to the Minnesota five-yard line in the closing seconds before taking a sack and was unable to connect on the final play.
Adrian Peterson was a spectator for Minnesota, as expected. So too, unexpectedly, was quarterback Teddy Bridgewater, given the night off by coach Mike Zimmer. Shaun Hill started and played nearly the entire first half.
Blair Walsh was perfect on a 27yard field goal after missing from the same distance in the NFC wild card game and costing the Vikings a playoff victory. But Walsh missed wide left from 47 yards with 2:09 left on a kick that would have given the Vikings the lead.
Seattle’s overhauled offensive line struggled after a decent debut last Saturday against Kansas City. Russell Wilson played the entire first half and was sacked four times, getting pulled down awkwardly on the last sack. Wilson was five of 11 for 77 yards.
The bright spot for Seattle’s starting offence was again running back Christine Michael. Projected as the No. 2 running back when the season begins, Michael finished with 55 yards on 10 carries.