A brief look at Seahawks/Vikings history

It’s been ugly for the purple recently

As we do each week, it’s time to take a look at the history between the Minnesota Vikings and their opponents for the week. On Sunday, the Vikings will play the first meaningful game in front of fans at U.S. Bank Stadium since Week 16 of 2019 when they play host to the Seattle Seahawks. To say that the Seahawks have had the Vikings’ number in recent years would be quite the understatement, as you’ll see when we delve into the history here.

Once again, the numbers for this post are brought to you by the folks from Pro Football Reference. It’s also worth pointing out once again that the focus is on the regular season. These two teams have met once in the playoffs, and we’re not going to relive the trauma of what happened in that one. I mean. . .you already know.

Regular season games between the Seahawks and the Vikings: 17

All-time record: Seahawks, 12-5

Vikings’ home record against the Seahawks: 3-3

Total Vikings’ points scored, head-to-head: 387 (22.8 points/game)

Total Seahawks’ points scored, head-to-head: 459 (27 points/game)

Longest Vikings’ winning streak vs Seahawks: 2 games (22 October 2006 – 22 November 2009)

Longest Seahawks’ winning streak vs Vikings: 6 games (4 November 2012 – present)

Most recent Vikings’ home win in series: 22 November 2009 (final score 35-9)

Most recent Seahawks’ road win in series: 6 December 2015 (final score 38-7)

Biggest Vikings’ home win in series: 27 points, 7 December 2003 (final score 34-7)

Biggest Seahawk’s road win in series: 31 points, 6 December 2015 (final score 38-7)

Current streak: Seahawks, 6 wins (7 counting post-season)

Yeah. . .it’s been a long damn time since the Vikings have beaten the Seahawks anywhere. The Vikings have never beaten the Seahawks under the Russell Wilson/Pete Carroll regime, and if they want to avoid an 0-3 start they need to fix that on Sunday afternoon.

The last time these two teams got together was on Sunday Night Football in Seattle last season. We all know what happened there. . .the two teams went back and forth, trading the lead, and the Vikings looked like they might finally get the monkey off of their back when they took a 26-21 lead into the two-minute warning. However, facing a 4th-and-1 deep in Seattle territory, the Vikings eschewed the field goal and Alexander Mattison (in for an injured Dalvin Cook) was stopped short on the play to give the ball back to Seattle. Wilson and company marched down the field, converting three fourth downs along the way. The last one was the biggest, as Wilson found D.K. Metcalf for a 6-yard touchdown with just 15 seconds left to give the Seahawks an improbable. . .well, for anyone else. . .27-26 win.

(Going for it was still the right call, in case anyone wanted to ask.)

The last time the Seahawks came to Minnesota in the regular season was in December 2015 at TCF Bank Stadium, and they came in and laid a whooping on the home team. Four touchdowns from Wilson (three in the air and one on the ground) and a touchdown from Thomas Rawls staked the Seahawks to a 35-0 lead late in the third quarter. Only a 101-yard kickoff return from Cordarrelle Patterson prevented the shutout, as the Seahawks coasted to a 38-7 victory. The Vikings struggled in every facet of the game, amassing more yards in penalties (95) than they had net passing yards (94) and ending the game with just 125 yards of total offense.

In order to find the last time the Vikings triumphed over the Seahawks, we need to go back to the 2009 season at the Metrodome, when the Vikings started a spritely young quarterback named Brett Favre. This time, it was the Vikings that raced out to a huge lead behind four touchdown passes from Favre to four different receivers. That put the Vikings ahead 28-0 early in the third quarter before the Seahawks finally got themselves on the board. Favre sat out the fourth quarter, but the Vikings got another touchdown reception from Sidney Rice, his second of the day (from Tarvaris Jackson), and the Seahawks’ final score was too little, too late to prevent a 35-9 victory in Minneapolis.

If the Vikings want to stop their 2021 season from spiraling out of control, they’re going to have to do something that they haven’t done in nearly 12 years. Can they get the job done? We damn sure hope so.