MINNEAPOLIS — Kyle Sloter completed a 25-yard touchdown pass to Chad Beebe and a 2-point conversion pass to Jake Wieneke with 47 seconds remaining to lift the Vikings to a 21-20 victory over the Seahawks on Friday night.
Seattle's Alex McGough completed a 55-yard pass to Caleb Scott on the game's final play, but Scott was tackled at the 2-yard line after time expired.
Sloter completed 11 of 15 passes for 85 yards and two touchdowns for a passer rating of 126.4. Wieneke caught a 1-yard score that helped the Vikings tie the game at 13 in the fourth quarter.
Seattle countered with a 36-yard touchdown pass from McGough to David Moore with 4:10 remaining.
The Vikings third preseason game featured the return — albeit limited — of Dalvin Cook, an impressive first half for Kirk Cousins and an impressive pass breakup/interception by the combination of George Iloka and Anthony Harris, who added a sack late in the game.
Cook made his long-awaited return, but "The Chef's" night was done after two carries netted 1 yard. Cook had an impressive second effort on his second carry to convert a third-and-1 before he was replaced by Latavius Murray.
Cook hadn't played in a game since Oct. 1, 2017, when he suffered a torn ACL against the Lions in Week 4. The limited action shouldn't diminish the accomplishment of intense physical therapy by the second-year pro.
"It felt great, to get banged around, tossed around," Cook said during the simulcast of the game. "It felt great just to be out there."
Murray finished with 10 carries for 24 yards and caught three passes for 32 yards.
Stefon Diggs caught four passes for 51 yards, Adam Thielen added four receptions for 26 yards, and Laquon Treadwell caught three passes for 44 yards.
The Vikings starting offensive line was LT Riley Reiff, LG Tom Compton, C Cornelius Edison, RG Mike Remmers and RT Rashod Hill. Minnesota opened by driving from its own 22 to the Seattle 24, chewing up 7:34 of possession time, but Daniel Carlson's 42-yard field goal missed wide left.
On the second possession and for the remainder of the first half, the Vikings subbed in Danny Isidora at right guard and Aviante Collins at right tackle.
Minnesota was able to drive 97 yards for a touchdown on its second possession, quickly moving their backs from their own end zone with a quick pass to fullback C.J. Ham for a gain of 10 on second down. Murray added a 24-yard reception to convert a third-and-7 on a short pass by Kirk Cousins.
Cousins completed 17 of 28 passes for 182 yards. Cousins helped the Vikings go 7-for-10 on third downs in the first half and uncorked a back-shoulder throw to Diggs for a gain of 27.
"I thought he did some good things," Vikings Head Coach Mike Zimmer said during an interview with Greg Coleman. "He was accurate on a lot of balls, made a little scramble here and there. For the most part, he went to the right place. I thought he threw the ball well."
Scoring Summary
Q2, 13:42 remaining
Vikings 6, Seahawks 0
Latavius Murray scores on a 1-yard rush (conversion pass incomplete) [13 plays, 97 yards, 7:17]
Key plays: Cousins completed three passes in a four-play span for gains of 24 to Murray, 16 to C.J. Ham and 27 to Stefon Diggs.
Q2, 7:36 remaining
Seahawks 7, Vikings 6
Chris Carson scores on a 6-yard rush (Sebastian Janikowski PAT) [12 plays, 75 yards, 6:06]
Notable: Seattle faced just one third down during the drive and converted a third-and-5 with an 11-yard pass from Russell Wilson to Keenan Reynolds.
Q2, 2:39 remaining
Seahawks 10, Vikings 6
Janikowski kicks a 35-yard field goal [8 plays, 36 yards, 3:54]
Q3, 10:09 remaining
Seahawks 13, Vikings 6
Janikowski kicks a 55-yard field goal [6 plays, 38 yards, 2:11]
Q4, 9:09 remaining
Seahawks 13, Vikings 13
Kyle Sloter completes a 1-yard pass to Jake Wieneke (Carlson PAT) [8 plays, 32 yards, 4:28]
Capitalized on field position: The Vikings went from turnover to touchdown by making good on excellent starting field position. Minnesota stayed ahead of the chains and converted a pair of third-and-2s.
Q4, 4:10 remaining
Seahawks 20, Vikings 13
Alex McGough completes a 36-yard pass to David Moore (Janikowski PAT) [10 plays, 75 yards, 4:59]
Q4, :47 remaining
Vikings 21, Seahawks 20
Sloter completes a 25-yard pass to Chad Beebe (Sloter conversion pass to Wieneke) [9 plays, 53 yards, 1:38]
