Seahawks vs Vikings turning point: K.J. Wright channels his inner WR

The Seahawks needed several big plays to overcome the Vikings Sunday night. None were bigger than the circus catch made by K.J. Wright.

Okay, settle down, 12s. I know that DK Metcalf scored the winning touchdown. I know that Russell Wilson came alive for that thrilling drive, converting on not one, but two fourth downs. I know the Seahawks scored 21 points in what seemed like 21 seconds after being shut out in the first half. That amazing sequence was keyed by not one, but two big plays by the Hawks great linebacker, K.J. Wright. Well, he’s one of them, anyway.

Until he connected on a strange nine-yard pass to Tyler Lockett with just two seconds left in the half, Wilson actually had a whopping four net yards passing. The Seahawks desperately needed to flip the switch. During the game, your faithful correspondent and the 12thManRising honcho, Lee Vowell, discussed how differently the Hawks would have been playing with the energy of the 12s rocking CenturyLink Field. It took them a half, but they definitely got it going.

After the Hawks and Vikes traded punts (thank you Saint Michael Dickson), DangeRuss led his team on a crisp 58-yard drive that ate up just 1:37 on the clock. Four plays later, Damontrae Moore stripped Minnesota QB Kirk Cousins of the ball just before he could get the ball away. Want to guess who recovered the fumble?

K.J. Wright is having a great season

Aw, you cheated! Yes, it was K.J. Wright. (You know, Wright, right? He is the third-highest-graded linebacker in the NFL in 2020 so far, according to Pro Football Focus.) Two plays later, Seattle took the lead, 14-13. The Hawks scored in just 35 seconds. Wright can’t recover the ball unless Moore swats it out of Cousin’s hand, of course, but the longest-serving member of the Seahawks was the man who got the ball.

Here’s where it really got fun. On the very first play the Vikings ran after the Hawks took the lead, K.J. Wright dropped into coverage and did the best impression of Tyler Lockett you’ll ever see. He jumped about 30 feet in the air, snagged the pass with one hand, and cradled it like his first-born child. Well, assuming he’s some crazy warlord, which he kinda is. Chris Carson then danced and blasted his way into the endzone on the first Seahawks play, and Seattle was up 21-13.

Yes, it took some last-second heroics by Russell Wilson and DK Metcalf to save the game, but if it hadn’t been for those big plays by Wright, those wouldn’t have mattered. I don’t think it’s overstating how much the momentum swung on his interception. The Hawks had already come alive, but they were absolutely electrified when Wright came down with that ball. Even though they fell behind, they knew that they could accomplish anything. K.J. Wright proved that.