Halftime Observations: Seahawks Battle Back, Trail 17-14 to Vikings

Another untimely interception helped the Vikings extend their lead, but Geno Smith willed the Seahawks back within three right before halftime.

Dec 22, 2024; Seattle, Washington, USA; Seattle Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith (7) looks to pass against the Minnesota Vikings during the first quarter at Lumen Field. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images / Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images

Battling for their playoff lives in their home finale, Geno Smith tossed a pair of touchdown passes to help the Seattle Seahawks claw back from a two-score deficit and went into halftime trailing the Minnesota Vikings 17-14 at Lumen Field.

Giving up a touchdown on the opening drive of the game for a second straight week, the Seahawks surrendered a third and fourth down conversion as the Vikings marched 70 yards on 12 plays, eating up nearly seven minutes off the clock before quarterback Sam Darnold found Jordan Addison over the middle from five yards out for a touchdown.

Following a defensive stop, Smith answered back by going a perfect five-for-five for 71 yards on a lengthy scoring drive for Seattle, putting an exclamation mark on the possession by dropping a dime to DK Metcalf with cornerback Stephon Gilmore tightly covering him for a 25-yard touchdown.

After trading punts, Darnold engineered another long touchdown drive, this time being aided by a critical penalty against cornerback Tre Brown. The Seahawks appeared to have a third down stop deep in their own territory, only for the defender to be busted for lining up in the neutral zone to wipe out a sack by Derick Hall.

On the next snap, with a do-over on third down, Darnold lofted a perfect throw to Justin Jefferson with Brown in coverage, beating the fourth-year corner for an 14-yard touchdown to put Minnesota back in front.

Looking to quickly even the score, Smith rolled out to his right on a play action pass and inexplicably threw an ugly pick to a dropping Dallas Turner, giving the rookie his first career interception. Fortunately for the Seahawks, the defense managed to limit the Vikings to just a field goal off the turnover, keeping the game within 10 points.

To close out the half, Smith demonstrated short-term memory by forgetting about his earlier interception, guiding Seattle 88 yards on just five plays, including 20-plus yard passes to DK Metcalf and Jaxon Smith-Njigba. After a defensive holding penalty moved them into the red zone with 24 seconds to play, the quarterback delivered a perfect pass out in front of Smith-Njigba on a slot wheel route, connecting for an 18-yard touchdown to cut the deficit to three before half.

Smith finished the half 13 for 17 for 169 yards and two touchdowns, while Darnold played a strong first half as well completing 14 out of 21 passes for 128 yards and two touchdowns. Jefferson and Metcalf both eclipsed 50 receiving yards to pace their respective teams, while Jarran Reed and Boye Mafe produced the only sacks for the half as the Seahawks managed to get to Darnold a few times.

Building momentum with Smith's second touchdown right before the break, Seattle will receive the opening kickoff in the second half looking to take the lead and keep pace with the Los Angeles Rams, who won earlier in the day over the New York Jets to improve to 9-6.

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