Blowout Loss to Seahawks Proves Vikings Offense Isn't Postseason Worthy

As the Minnesota Vikings kept losing pieces on defense and giving up points to the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday, one truth on the other side of the football became crystal clear:

The Vikings just aren't good enough on offense.

On a day when Adrian Peterson was held to 18 yards rushing, quarterback Teddy Bridgewater took four sacks and managed only 118 yards passing on 28 attempts. The Vikings finished with 125 total yards with nine first downs, one turnover and zero trips inside the red zone.

The only points scored by Minnesota during Seattle's 38-7 win came on Cordarrelle Patterson's kickoff return for a touchdown in the second half.

The Vikings' dominant defense was anything but—thanks in large part to the absence of nose tackle Linval Joseph and the early-game departures of linebacker Anthony Barr and safety Harrison Smith. The losses were too much for Minnesota to overcome, especially with Russell Wilson playing so well and the Seahawks running game coming to life behind rookie running back Thomas Rawls.

Seattle gained 433 yards, converted 9 of 13 third downs and scored touchdowns on its first three red-zone trips. The Seahawks rushed for 173 yards while Wilson threw for three touchdowns and ran for another. Rawls, an undrafted free agent, went for 101 yards rushing on 19 carries.

The Vikings offense had no answers. In fact, Bridgewater's unit was as uncompetitive as it has been all season.

	Points	Rushing Yards	Bridgewater Yards
at SF	3	71	231
at DEN	20	113	269
vs. GB	13	94	196
vs. SEA	7	31	118

Minnesota rushed for a season-low 31 yards. Of the Vikings' nine offensive possessions, seven gained fewer than 20 yards—including three three-and-outs. The deepest the Minnesota offense advanced into Seattle territory was the 36-yard line.

Without Peterson doing the heavy lifting on the ground, Bridgewater was unable to get anything going. He completed just one pass for over 20 yards, and his second-quarter interception—on a bad overthrow—helped transform Seattle's 14-0 advantage into a 21-0 lead going into halftime.

Good teams are taking away Peterson. And when Peterson isn't productive, the Vikings play some of the ugliest offense you'll see in today's NFL.

Case in point—Minnesota has averaged 11.8 points per game when Peterson doesn't rush for at least 98 yards this season (five games). The Vikings won just one of those five, and even that was a 16-10 victory against the Kansas City Chiefs.

Sunday's performance is almost excusable, given the recent history of dominance that goes with the Seahawks defense. The Vikings may not play a more talented group all season, even if some teams have started to figure out Seattle in 2015. When Michael Bennett, Earl Thomas, Richard Sherman and Bobby Wagner get going, even the best quarterbacks and offenses are subject to embarrassment.

However, Sunday wasn't just a mirage.

Ann Heisenfelt/Associated Press

The Green Bay Packers mostly took away Peterson (45 rushing yards) and put the game in Bridgewater's hands. The result was just 13 points (including only six after the first quarter) as Bridgewater took six sacks and consistently failed in making the big play down the field.

The same script played out in losses against the San Francisco 49ers and Denver Broncos earlier in the year.

The Vikings are still 8-4. But many of those wins have come in games where Minnesota simply bullied a lesser opponent, using Peterson and an attacking defense to provide the knockout punches. When the opposition has been able to match the Vikings' strengths, Minnesota has crumbled, especially on offense.

Now 13 weeks in, it might be time to accept the Vikings for what they are: a young team with some of the right pieces but also a flawed club lacking the horses on offense to compete with the game's best franchises.

In four days, the Vikings will get another shot to either prove or disprove the theory. Minnesota travels to Arizona to play the 10-2 Cardinals on Thursday night. It will take more than Peterson to beat one of the NFC's best teams.

The postseason is still very much in the cards for the Vikings. However, Sunday's loss proved once again that Minnesota isn't good enough on offense to be considered a true playoff threat.

Zach Kruse covers the Vikings for Bleacher Report.

Follow @zachkruse2