SEATTLE — The Vikings, who opened the preseason with a 24-13 loss to the Seahawks on Thursday night, remain winless in four exhibition games under Kevin O’Connell. Put another way, they’ve lost as many preseason games as they have regular-season games under the coach.
Their NFC North championship a year ago came after they reached the start of the regular season in fine health, and the fact the Vikings rested almost all of their starters on Thursday night makes the game’s final result trivial. After the Vikings took a 10-0 lead in the first half at Lumen Field, though, and saw their young defenders turn in a commanding first quarter, they’re unlikely to be unhappy with how the game ended.
The Seahawks, who had just 21 yards in the first quarter, totaled 319 in the final three quarters, pulling away to win as the Vikings’ mistakes afforded Seattle a number of big plays. After Nick Mullens went 14 of 20 for 139 yards in the first half, rookie Jaren Hall struggled to move the offense in the second, when the Vikings had just two first downs in Hall’s first four drives.
A pair of joint practices against the Titans this week, before the Vikings’ first home preseason game against Tennessee next Saturday, will give the team plenty of time to work on the rough spots that emerged on Thursday night. Between Hall’s struggles, penalties, special teams mistakes and a pair of costly lapses in coverage, their first preseason game provided coaches with a fresh batch of teaching points.
Despite the fact the Vikings didn’t begin a single one of Mullens’ drives further up the field than their own 21, the backup quarterback led a productive offense in the first half, directing back-to-back drives that lasted for at least 11 plays each. He hit six different receivers while facing steady pressure from the Seahawks, connecting with Jalen Reagor four times for 55 yards and finding first-round pick Jordan Addison for a 22-yard gain on a deep crossing route in the second quarter.
BOXSCORE: Seattle 24, Vikings 13
Ty Chandler, who was scheduled for a big night of work as the Vikings try to determine if he can overtake Kene Nwangwu for the No. 2 running back spot, carried 11 times for 41 yards and caught another four passes from Mullens for 29 yards, including an eight-yard gain on a checkdown that set up the Vikings’ first field goal. Mullens threw his first preseason touchdown pass in a Vikings uniform to tight end Nick Muse, who made an impressive leaping grab in the back of the end zone for a four-yard score.
But Seahawks quarterback Drew Lock hit Easop Winston Jr. for a 13-yard touchdown over the middle before halftime, firing a dart while second-round pick Mekhi Blackmon’s tight coverage was flagged for pass interference. The scoring pass made it 10-7 at halftime.
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The Vikings, who had 193 yards of offense in the first half, managed just 55 the rest of the way after Hall replaced Mullens. Their only points came on a 54-yard Greg Joseph field goal, after cornerback Jaylin Williams’ impressive play to drop back in coverage and pick off a Lock pass that T.J. Smith tipped at the line of scrimmage.
Seattle put together three touchdown drives in the second half, extending one drive after Thayer Thomas muffed a punt at the Vikings’ 32 to give the Seahawks the ball back. After Jake Bobo beat Andrew Booth off the line of scrimmage, the cornerback could not regain positioning in coverage before Lock hit Bobo for a 19-yard score.
Then, third-string Seahawks quarterback Holton Ahlers threw a jump ball for Matt Landers while linebacker Benton Whitley drilled the left-handed passer. Vikings cornerback Kalon Barnes fell down on the play, and Landers turned the pass into a 30-yard score.
Hall, the Vikings’ fifth-round pick from Brigham Young, finished six of 12 for 37 yards.
