VIKINGS HEAD COACH MIKE ZIMMER
Thoughts on the game:
"I thought we played well in the first half. We didn't play well in the second half. We made too many mistakes. We didn't play the running game as well defensively tonight, so that played a factor in it. Some of the things we are trying to get done, we got better at tonight. We just have to continue to get better. It's not the end of the world, it's a four game season left. We are still in good shape, we are still a good football team."
Is Dalvin Cook's injury anything to be concerned about:
"No."
Why did the run defense give up two hundred plus yards tonight:
"Well there was probably forty to fifty yards on the (fake) punt return, so that counts. I'm assuming we got knocked out of some gaps and didn't get off blocks."
What happened with defensive coverage on the 60 yard touchdown pass to David Moore:
I'm not going to explain exactly what was supposed to happen, we had a busted coverage."
What did you see from Seattle in the second half after they only scored 10 points in the first half. Was it the coverage busts:
"Well that one didn't help. We had a couple of turnovers I think in the second half. That didn't any help either."
Are you concerned with the way that Xavier Rhodes displays his emotions:
"Yes, we have to control our emotions a lot better than that."
How do you think Kirk Cousins did tonight:
"I thought he did well. He made some good plays. He was under duress a few times but made good plays. He moved in the pocket pretty well. He got the ball out under some tough situations. The one route that got intercepted there at the end, the guy kind of sat on the route."
Thoughts on the offense being affected with three offensive players out of the game in the second half:
"I don't know. We didn't play well enough to win. I'm not going to put it on guys that are hurt."
Besides his emotional displays, how do you think Xavier played tonight:
"I don't know, I will have to look at the tape."
What can the team build on going forward after tonight in the fourth quarter:
"Everybody acts like this is the end of the world. We lost one game tonight. We are 8-4, we have four games left, three division games. This is not the end of the world. We have a lot of good football left to play."
Do you think that Seattle likes to keep it simple with using the third tackle for 40-45 plays:
"It was another big body in there. Then the back is a hard running back. They bounced the ball to the perimeter a little bit more tonight than they have in the past."
Is it more difficult to be gap sound when Seattle continues to run in additional bodies:
"No."
Were you surprised that Seattle was running the ball that often from the start:
"A little bit. I thought they would be throwing the ball a little bit more than they did and what they have done in the past. They stuck with it a lot more than I thought."
QB KIRK COUSINS
On the lack of down field shots taken by the offense:
"It was a combination of play calls, situations, and then they took them away, too."
On the difficulty of rallying the team after RB Cook went out with an injury in the third quarter:
"Tough, tough injury. My heart is with Dalvin (Cook), Riley (Reiff)… Tough to lose anybody, certainly hate seeing them going down."
On if there are any regrets regarding the sequence late in the third quarter and early in the fourth:
"I look back on a lot of things. You could certainly point to that, but there are far more plays that had an impact, as well. It all plays together. Certainly the third quarter was part of it."
On what was working well for them early on and why it became more difficult for their offense later on:
"I can't go back right now and go through it all. I don't even remember all the first half drives or what happened or didn't happen. We had a holding call on one of the drives and we end up being four or five yards short of the first down after losing ten yards on a holding call. So, it was a combination of factors, it was never any one thing."
On the challenged first down play and if they thought about hurrying up to avoid the Seattle challenge:
"There was a conversation about that. Didn't end up doing it, but there were probably three of four other opportunities where we did try to go quickly to get it up and snapped."
On how he felt his teammates responded to the adversity and challenges in this game:
"Well, I think we have a football team that can go on the road in a tough environment and get a win. I think that this was an opportunity that we missed and that's disappointing. I think tonight we were able to at least show resilience and we're going to need that to win in December. If you do take care of business in December, I think we have four games left if you do take care of business, then you get a chance in January, and that is really what we want to do."
On putting this game behind him and getting ready for a playoff push:
"After a game like tonight I like to get out there tomorrow and play the next one. You just get back to work. You understand how important these last four games are, but you don't even look at it as four games. You look at it as Detroit one week from now, and then you look ahead."
RB DALVIN COOK
On what's is going through his head, considering his injury history, as he is lying injured on the field:
"I'm good. Part of the game. That's part of the game. It's a physical sport, and that's what comes with it. So I have to fight through it."
On what happened on the play when he was injured:
"He just hit me right on what I had last week when we played the Broncos. He just hit me right on it, when he went to punch for the ball, hit me right on it. It was kind of like a different feeling. It was different. He got me in a good spot. It's a weird injury that I've got. It's kind of like when I land in an awkward spot, it kind of hurts. I try to kind of land where it don't hurt so. It's kind of awkward, the way that I was landing. But like I said, it's a physical sport. End of the year, I'll be all right."
On if he can play next week:
"I'll be good to go."
On if this is something that can linger:
"We'll see. I'll definitely be ready to go Sunday."
On how the team responded with him out of the lineup:
"We know who we got at quarterback. We got a guy who can get the job done. A thousand percent trust in Alex, Ameer, CJ, Boone, all those guys. Got a lot of trust in those guys. We're capable of winning football games without me in the game. You've seen that. We've just got to close out. We've got to take advantage of those opportunities."
On if this loss could derail a successful season:
"Nah, we fought our tails off. I'm proud of the guys. We had a chance to win at the end. Very exciting, great environment, we didn't capitalize. But I'm proud of the guys how we fought. We just got to respond quick."
On what he wants to avoid if the Vikings face Seattle in the playoffs:
"Turnovers. No matter if I get injured or not, can't turn the ball over. I hold myself 1,000 percent responsible for not turning the ball over. I pride myself on not turning the ball over. So I can't put my teammates in that position. I can't turn the ball over. I've got to take care of the football.
WR LAQUAN TREADWELL
On his touchdown reception:
"There were just playing cover two. I knew the corner's techniques, so I figured if I pushed him outside he would go for the cheese. But, he actually jump jammed me, got physical at the line, got loose. Once I saw Kirk (Cousins) step up the line, I knew if he looked down the field he was either going to have a whole shot, and then I saw the safety rotate down, which told me I was by myself. So once he threw the ball I knew I was back there by myself. I sprinted to the end zone, and it kind of gave us a boost to get back in the game."
On Dalvin Cook and how tough it was to see him go down tonight:
"Dalvin is one of our leaders. Not even on the field, but off the field. The way he carries himself, his demeanor, he's been through adversity before. We actually had him and Diggs down at the same time, so it was kind of a shocking experience for all of us. No one knew if either one of them was going to get up and play other down. For me, I was just praying for him, most importantly. I've seen what he's been through and he's a fighter. I know whatever it is he will overcome it, be back here and doing what he loves."
S ANTHONY HARRIS
On how the pass defense changed throughout the game and where he thought they struggled:
"I'm not really sure. We were able to compete for some passes, get some nice breakups in key situations. It's a team effort, a combination of stopping the pass, stopping the run. Good coverage on the back end, and good rush up front."
S HARRISON SMITH
On the resiliency of his team and how they came back to make it close from down 17:
"It's the NFL, you got to win. We're going to do that. It's not like we're surprised we're going to fight. We're always going to fight. Got to win."
On how tough this loss is for their playoff outlook:
"Everything is still in front of us. Got to win. That's it."
TE KYLE RUDOLPH
On if this was a potential win that slipped away:
"When you're in the locker room at halftime and looking at an opportunity to go up 14, possibly 10, regardless you make it a two-score game. Then we go three-and-out, and the next you know it's a tie game. Then we turn the ball over again. We just didn't execute well enough in the second half. With that being said, we still had a chance, fourth-and-short to convert to go down there and win the game. I just hope everyone in this locker room holds their heads high knowing that we could be back here in a month, and we played with one of the best teams in the NFC tonight, and we shot ourselves in the foot too many times. We just execute better, not hurt ourselves—penalties, turnovers, play clearer football—and we've got a chance."
On how to get ready for the next opponent on a short week:
"Get on the plane, forget about this one and get ready. Nothing we can do about this now. We missed an opportunity, but we have four games left and if we get to twelve and four, I think we'll like where we sit come January. Like I said, I could see us coming back here in about a month."
On if they missed a major opportunity with this game tonight:
"Absolutely. Any time you play well, score thirty points on the road, twenty four on offense and you don't come away with a win, it's hard. Like I said, when you do the things that we did in the third quarter and start of the fourth quarter, turnovers, penalties, you're not going to beat a good football team, and they have a good football team."
On being without Cook and others in the second half of this game:
"There's a lot of good football players in this locker room and we're never going to make an excuse about not having somebody out there. Alexander (Mattison) stepped up and had some really big runs and some big screens. Obviously,
we'd love to have all of our guys out there, but with that being said, the guys we have on the field are more than capable. You have to give the Seahawks credit. They played well, they played big on home primetime, Monday night, but we feel like we let one slip away. Shot ourselves in the foot too many times."
On his one-handed touchdown reception:
"Like I always say, just throw it somewhere close and I'm going to do my best to catch it. I just take a lot of pride, and when Kirk (Cousins) trusts me and throws the ball into traffic to come down with it."
Game action photos from the Seattle Seahawks' Week 13 matchup against the Minnesota Vikings.
