Seattle Seahawks dismiss listless Minnesota Vikings in ugly Monday night matchup

When the calendar flips to December, NFL football is supposed to be synonymous with the pursuit of playoff excellence. Monday night's matchup between the Minnesota Vikings and Seattle Seahawks should have provided a precursor to that level of distinction, given both clubs are currently projected as NFC wild-card entries. 

But neither appeared postseason-caliber during the Seahawks' uninspired 21-7 victory over the even more listless Vikings — further evidence suggesting that the NFC bracket will be very top-heavy following a weekend when the three teams chasing Minnesota and Seattle (Carolina, Philadelphia, Washington) all suffered defeats.

Here are three other things we learned from Vikings-Seahawks:

Mini-sota: A Vikings team that came within a game of the Super Bowl last season was supposed to hit another gear with the arrival of free-agent QB Kirk Cousins this year. But to call them average would probably be kind. The defense, which began the night ranked sixth overall but is a shadow of the dominant unit from 2017, struggled to get off the field, consistently gashed by Seattle's rugged ground game for 214 yards. The offense couldn't establish the run or sustain drives, finishing 2-for-10 on third downs. A fourth-quarter field-goal attempt was blocked. And Cousins, regularly under duress, just couldn't make the plays he's being paid to deliver. More on him later.

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