Week 7 Game Recap: Minnesota Vikings 31, Seattle Seahawks 13

What you need to know

Minnesota Vikings

The Vikings featured a well-balanced offense, but won the game with a handful of big plays. QB Brad Johnson completed only 15 passes in the game, but one of those was a big 40 yard touchdown grab by WR Marcus Robinson in the second quarter. RB Chester Taylor posted 169 yards rushing on 26 carries, but 95 of those yards came on a lone run in the third quarter that ended in the Seahawks’ end zone. Their other big play came on defense when Minnesota DT Kevin Williams recovered a Seahawks’ fumble in their end zone for a touchdown.

QB Brad Johnson had a rather pedestrian day, completing 15 of 24 passes for 171 yards and a lone touchdown. His 15 completions went to nine different receivers. WR Marcus Robinson led the way catching four of six targets for 77 yards and a touchdown. TE Jermaine Wiggins also caught a touchdown pass, but it came from RB Mewelde Moore on a halfback option play.

Seattle Seahawks

QB Matt Hasselbeck was having a decent game before a Vikings defender rolled into the side of his leg late in the first half sending Hasselbeck to the turf with a sprained knee. He was unable to return and was replaced by fourth year back-up Seneca Wallace. The seldom-used QB looked the part, throwing an interception on his third play from scrimmage and generally having difficulty with the tough Vikings’ defense. Wallace showed good mobility and arm strength on occasion, but his offense was obviously deflated by the loss of their leader and was unable to sustain any momentum.

WR Darrell Jackson had another strong game, both before and after QB Matt Hasselbeck’s departure. He was by far the most targeted receiver on the field for Seattle. Jackson was thrown to 14 times, catching half of those for 136 yards and a touchdown. Deion Branch was the second leading receiver with 60 yards on four catches. Former Vikings' receiver Nate Burleson did not record a catch.

Seattle’s running game has been struggling and Minnesota wasn’t the team to help them get back on track. RB Maurice Morris ran for only 49 yards on 17 mostly first half carries. The Seahawks were still in this game until the fourth quarter, so the lack of carries really can’t be attributed to a lopsided contest. Pre-game speculation had RB Shaun Alexander returning from his foot injury for this contest, but in reality he’s at least a week or two away.

What you ought to know

QB Brad Johnson, Pass: 15 - 24 - 171 - 1 TD / 0 INT, Rush: 3 - 2 - 0

Johnson played mistake free football in leading a balanced Vikings’ offense to victory. The crowd noise at Qwest Field has been known to get into the heads of opposing offenses, but Johnson’s veteran leadership kept his team calm and the Vikings committed none of the dreaded false start penalties that usually plague visiting offenses. His stat line was a rather pedestrian 15 of 24 for 171 yards and one touchdown.

RB Chester Taylor, Rush: 26 - 169 - 1, Rec: 4 - 19 - 0 (4 targets)

Taylor had a strong outing with 169 yards on 26 carries and the longest touchdown run in Vikings history. With the Minnesota backed up against their goal line, Taylor was just trying to get his offense some breathing room when he was stopped up the middle and broke the run outside. He found lots of space in the secondary and out sprinted Seattle safety Michael Boulware for a 95 yard touchdown.

RB Mewelde Moore, Pass: 1 - 1 - 15 - 1 TD / 0 INT, Rec: 1 - 5 - 0 (1 targets)

Moore had no carries and caught only a single pass, but he took a second half handoff on third and goal from the Seattle 15 yard line and lofted a touchdown pass to TE Jermaine Wiggins.

WR Marcus Robinson, Rec: 4 - 77 - 1 (6 targets)

Robinson was the leading receiver for the Vikings in this game, catching four passes for 77 yards and a touchdown. He found himself open 40 yards downfield in the Seahawks’ end zone after beating zone coverage.

WR Travis Taylor, Rec: 2 - 25 - 0 (4 targets)

Taylor caught a pair of Brad Johnson passes for 25 yards.

WR Troy Williamson, Rec: 1 - 18 - 0 (2 targets)

Williamson was targeted twice catching one pass for 18 yards. He left the game with a head injury following a hard hit in the first quarter.

WR Billy McMullen, Rec: 1 - 9 - 0 (4 targets)

The number four WR recorded a single catch for nine yards.

TE Jim Kleinsasser, Rec: 1 - 3 - 0 (1 targets)

Each of the Vikings’ tight ends caught one pass in this game. Kleinsasser’s went for three yards.

TE Richard Owens, Rec: 1 - 15 - 0 (1 targets)

The number three tight end caught his only target for 15 yards.

TE Jermaine Wiggins, Rec: 1 - 15 - 1 (2 targets)

Wiggins caught a 15 yard touchdown pass from RB Mewelde Moore in the third quarter. It was his only catch of the day.

PK Ryan Longwell 1 - 2 FG, 4 - 4 XP, 7 points

Longwell hit one of two field goal attempts and all four of his extra points. He missed wide right from 46 yards out.

MIN Rush Defense

What usually happens when a struggling running game meets a rush defense that has yet to give up a 100 yard rushing game this season? The defense wins. The Vikings allowed only 49 yards to back-up RB Maurice Morris and came up big when they needed to, including a clutch fourth and one play with the Seahawks driving in the fourth quarter.

MIN Pass Defense

Except for one play, the Vikings’ pass defense played very well. WR Darrell Jackson took a short slant for a 72 yard touchdown on the Seahawks’ first possession. They intercepted back-up QB Seneca Wallace twice and recovered a Wallace fumble in the end zone for a touchdown. The Vikings recorded four sacks on Seahawks’ quarterbacks.

QB Seneca Wallace, Pass: 14 - 25 - 134 - 0 TD / 2 INT, Rush: 2 - 1 - 0

Wallace threw an interception on his second pass attempt and followed with a three and out on the next series, due in part to his receivers’ inability to catch a pass. Once things settled down, Wallace showed a strong arm and excellent mobility in moving the Seahawks down the field for an early fourth quarter field goal. Wallace also fumbled into the end zone after being blindsided and the Vikings recovered it for a touchdown. Wallace finished the day completing 14 of 25 passes for 134 yards, no touchdowns and a pair of interceptions.

QB Matt Hasselbeck, Pass: 7 - 17 - 127 - 1 TD / 0 INT

Hasselbeck played well before Minnesota LB E.J. Henderson rolled into the side of his leg after an incomplete pass and ended his day. On the Seahawks’ fourth offensive play of the game, Hasselbeck adjusted to a Vikings’ blitz, putting WR Darrell Jackson into a quick slant that he took for a 72 yard touchdown. That would be his game highlight as Hasselbeck was unable to return with a sprained knee. An MRI is scheduled for Monday.

RB Maurice Morris, Rush: 17 - 49 - 0, Rec: 2 - 9 - 0 (6 targets)

Morris, filling in once again for the injured Shaun Alexander, was unable to get the Seahawks’ running game on track. He carried the ball 17 times for 49 yards and 27 of those came on one play. Perhaps the exclamation mark to the Seahawks’ running game woes came on a fourth and one play in the fourth quarter when Morris was hit in the backfield and suffered a three yard loss. Alexander should return in a week or two.

RB Mack Strong, Rush: 1 - 3 - 0, Rec: 3 - 16 - 0 (3 targets)

Strong was limited to four touches in this game and gained a combined 19 yards.

RB Shaun Alexander

Alexander is still sidelined with his fractured foot. Chris Mortensen raised some hope on the ESPN pre game show when he said that Alexander was lobbying hard to be able to play in Sunday’s game but Alexander was on the inactive list.

WR Darrell Jackson, Rec: 7 - 136 - 1 (14 targets)

Jackson was the lone bright spot in the Seahawks’ offense in this game. He was the favorite target of both Seattle quarterbacks, catching seven passes for 136 yards and the Seahawks’ only touchdown.

WR Deion Branch, Rush: 1 - 0 - 0, Rec: 4 - 60 - 0 (9 targets)

Branch was the Seahawks’ second leading receiver with four catches for 60 yards. Most of his nine targets were uncatchable balls from back-up QB Seneca Wallace.

WR D.J. Hackett, Rec: 4 - 37 - 0 (5 targets)

Hackett is making the best of WR Bobby Engram's absence from the Seahawks' lineup. He recorded four catches for 37 yards in this game, bringing his two game total to just over 100 yards receiving. Hackett has certainly garnered more attention than off-season acquisition Nate Burleson.

WR Nate Burleson (2 targets)

It’s official, Burleson is an afterthought in the Seahawks’ offense. For the second consecutive week, number four WR D.J. Hackett had more targets, catches and yards than Burleson who failed to catch a pass in this game.

WR Bobby Engram

Engram practiced some this week, but is still out indefinitely with a thyroid-related illness.

TE Itula Mili, Rec: 1 - 3 - 0 (2 targets)

Jerramy Stevens returned to limited action for the first time since the Super Bowl, but Mili started and was the only Seattle TE to catch a pass.

TE Jerramy Stevens (2 targets)

Stevens did not start, but saw his first action of the season. He appeared to make one catch, but it was overturned after reviewing the replay.

PK Josh Brown 2 - 2 FG, 1 - 1 XP, 7 points

Brown was perfect today, hitting from 42 and 26 yards as well as his only extra point attempt.

SEA Rush Defense

The Seahawks gave up yards in chunks to RB Chester Taylor, the largest chunk being a 95 yard touchdown run in the third quarter. Taylor fought for tough yardage up the gut, but was stopped dead in the middle before breaking it outside for the long trip to pay dirt. Taylor finished with 169 yards on the ground against this defense.

SEA Pass Defense

The secondary looked very sharp until Vikings’ WR Marcus Robinson split a zone coverage in the second quarter for a 40 yard touchdown. They were also beaten badly on a halfback option play when RB Mewelde Moore tossed to a wide open TE Jermaine Wiggins for a third quarter touchdown. Julian Peterson recorded a pair of clutch second quarter sacks and both Leroy Hill and Rocky Bernard added a sack each.