The Minnesota Vikings (8-4) dropped a tough one to the Seattle Seahawks (10-2) 37-30 on Monday night. The game was nothing short of a roller coaster ride, filled with dramatic ups and downs from both teams.

I enjoyed watching this game from start to finish despite the loss. It proves that Minnesota can hang with one of the top teams in the NFL, a team that it could very well see again in the playoffs. Not to mention the Vikings fought back in one of the toughest venues to play in.

Here’s the good and the bad from Monday night:

The Good

Minnesota’s first offensive drive set the bar for how the game was going to turn out. Scoring right out of the gate was essential for the Vikings to stay in the game. It only took six plays for 83 yards to march down for six points. The drive was capped off by a two-yard touchdown run by Dalvin Cook.

The defense came up clutch in the second quarter. Rookie defensive tackle Armon Watts deflected a pass by Russell Wilson (who attempted to bat the ball away). Anthony Harris was there to snag the ball on the way down and take it in for a 20-yard touchdown interception.

A DOUBLE BATTED PICK SIX FOR ANTHONY HARRIS pic.twitter.com/CnzQHtK9xU — Abdul Memon (@abdulamemon) December 3, 2019

Vikings D continued to look stout (despite the poor ability to contain the run) as safety Harrison Smith came out of nowhere to interrupt a pass thrown to Tyler Lockett on third down in the end zone, with a minute left in the first half. Seattle settled for a field goal to tighten Minnesota’s lead to 14-10.

Minnesota found themselves down 34-17 in the fourth quarter and needed a sign of life. They got just that with a 58-yard touchdown pass from Kirk Cousins to Laquon Treadwell. What was a 17-point deficit quickly turned into a two possession game.

*** YEA LAQUON!!!! ***

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Crete Monee alum Laquon Treadwell just scored a 58yd TD on Monday Night Football. WE ARE PROUD OF YOU LAQUON!!!

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀#708TheyDontGrindLikeUs @SuccessfulQuon @CreteMoneeFB @Vikings pic.twitter.com/4P8AeaFCPb — Mike Mireles (@TeamHPF) December 3, 2019

Seattle sat on a fourth and three with 11 minutes to go in the fourth quarter, faked the punt and ran for 29 yards (that’s not good I know). Three plays later Xavier Rhodes forced a fumble after a catch by DK Metcalf. Mackensie Alexander was there with the recovery.

The fumble recovery created a eight play, 78 yard drive that resulted in a three-yard touchdwon pass to trusty Kyle Rudolph, however Dan Bailey missed the point after. Minnesota only trailed 34-30 with seven minutes left.

The Bad

Seattle went on a seven play, 78-yard touchdown drive that took over four minutes to accomplish, early in the third quarter. Unfortunately, Minnesota didn’t get a chance to respond after Dalvin Cook fumbled on the next offensive drive, where Seattle recovered and put themselves in great field position.

That’s when Cook went down with a chest injury, an injury from two weeks ago that he re aggravated, according to Chad Graff from The Athletic. Luckily for Minnesota, the Vikings defense held Wilson and his offense to only three points after the forced fumble by Rasheem Green. That gave Seattle its first lead of the game with a score of 20-17.

Rhodes was exposed by Wilson in the third quarter after Wilson found a wide open David Moore for a 60-yard touchdown bomb. Rhodes was clearly exposed based off his post-play reactions both on the field and off the field. He wasn’t seen back on the field until the middle of the fourth quarter when he picked up that fumble recovery.

Another key swing for Seattle happened when defensive back Tre Flowers broke up a pass thrown to Stefon Diggs and manged to come up with the ball on the way down. Flowers set the ball up on Minnesota’s 25-yard line, leading to a quick three-play touchdown that pushed the Seahawks to a 17 point lead, 34-17. Like mentioned earlier, Minnesota fought back, but couldn’t seal the deal at the end of the day.

Here's the Tre Flowers interception. If it was called pass interference on the field, it wouldn't be overturned because it was the right call. But of course, John Parry stands with the refs on the field as he has all year. #SEAvsMIN #MNF pic.twitter.com/F9uLtHRQfF https://t.co/VZ9IllhG3X — Billy Heyen (@BillyHeyen) December 3, 2019

The main issue with the Vikings’ defense this season has been the pass defense, however it seemed like the run game was the Minnesota’s kryptonite throughout the game. Chris Carson was the lead workhorse for Seattle despite being sidelined for a few plays after being stonewalled by his teammate. Carson finished the night with 21 carries for 102 yards and a touchdown. The run game as a committee secured over 200 rushing yards off of 42 carries.

The Vikings may be sitting at 8-4, but their playoff hopes are still very much alive. Skol as always, Vikings family.