The Vikings have gone back on top of the Seahawks.
Justin Jefferson caught his ninth touchdown of the season to give Minnesota a 14-7 lead over Seattle.
Quarterback Sam Darnold hit Jefferson down the right sideline for a 14-yard score, with Jefferson beating the one-on-one coverage.
Jefferson now has four catches for 45 yards with a TD so far on Sunday.
Darnold is 12-of-17 for 114 yards with two touchdowns.
Seahawks receiver DK Metcalf hadn’t found his way to the end zone since October.
That drought is now over.
Metcalf caught a 25-yard touchdown early in the second quarter of Sunday’s matchup against the Vikings, tying the score between the two teams at 7-7.
Metcalf entered Sunday’s game with just three touchdowns this season and hadn’t caught one since Week 7. He was able to get a little separation to catch a deep pass in the end zone from Geno Smith.
Smith has now started the game 5-of-6 for 71 yards with a touchdown.
The Vikings have gotten off to a good start in Seattle.
Quarterback Sam Darnold hit receiver Jordan Addison with a 5-yard touchdown to give Minnesota an early 7-0 lead.
Darnold was 7-of-8 on the team’s opening possession, connecting with Addison three times for 26 yards.
He also hit tight end T.J. Hockenson for an 8-yard gain on fourth-and-3 from Seattle’s 30 to keep the drive going.
Addison now has eight touchdown receptions this season.
The Vikings will not have one of their key defensive players for Sunday’s game against the Seahawks.
Safety Harrison Smith is inactive with a foot injury. Smith was listed as questionable for the game. He was limited on Wednesday and Friday and didn’t participate on Thursday.
Theo Jackson is expected to take Smith’s spot on defense.
For the Seahawks, quarterback Geno Smith and running back Kenneth Walker are both active, as expected. Walker will be playing for the first time since the Dec. 1 victory over the Jets.
Minnesota’s inactives are Harrison Smith, quarterback Brett Rypien, cornerback Fabian Moreau, tight end Nick Muse, defensive lineman Jalen Redmond, center Dan Feeney, and offensive tackle Walter Rouse.
Seattle’s inactives are cornerback Nehemiah Pritchett, tight end Brady Russell, linebacker Patrick O’Connell, offensive tackle Michael Jerrell, receiver Cody White, and quarterback Jaren Hall.
As Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith deals with a knee injury, Seattle has added another quarterback to the active roster in advance of Sunday’s visit from the Vikings.
And he knows the upcoming opponent pretty well.
Former Vikings quarterback Jaren Hall will join the Seahawks’ 53-man roster.
Sam Howell backs up Smith. Since Hall is on the active roster, he can be the game-day emergency quarterback. If he receives that designation, he’d be eligible to play only if both Smith and Howell are injured or otherwise unable to play.
Smith fully participated in practice all week. He has no injury designation, but he’s not at full strength.
“I wouldn’t think he would tell you he’s 100 percent, but he’s done everything he possibly can to be ready to go and be in a good frame of mind going into the game, but I’m not sure if and how it will show up,” coach Mike Macdonald said.
Hall, a fifth-round pick in 2023, started two games last year for the Vikings. He seemingly had a solid preseason for the Vikings, but he was cut before the regular season started.
