Seahawks beat Vikings 20-13 but lose LT George Fant

The preseason game Seattle won on Friday night won’t be nearly as important as the player the Seahawks lost.

And as good as quarterback Russell Wilson looked, completing 13 of his 18 passes for 206 yards and two touchdowns, it was the departure of the player the Seahawks were hoping would protect Wilson’s blindside that is the biggest story coming out of Seattle’s 20-13 preseason win over the Vikings at CenturyLink Field.

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Left tackle George Fant suffered an injury to his right leg with 9:01 left in the second quarter. The injury occurred when Seattle center Justin Britt was pushed into Fant, who reached for his right knee. Fant was taken off the field on a motorized cart with his leg in an air cast with what was later revealed to be an ACL injury that will require surgery.

Fant posted to his Twitter account after leaving the game, expressing thanks for the well wishes and stating he was in good hands. While that’s a good attitude, it’s not a positive prognosis for a return this season.

Thank you all for your support 🙏🏾 I’m in good hands.

— George Fant (@GeorgeFant74) August 19, 2017

Fant is in his second year with the Seahawks and was slated to start at left tackle. Rees Odhiambo replaced Fant at left tackle for the remainder of the game. Luke Joeckel, who was signed as a free agent in the offseason, could also be an option going forward.

The injury was the biggest story to come out of a game that included positive performances by wide receiver Kasen Williams, who had a pair of impressive catches on Seattle’s first drive, and running back Chris Carson, who forced a fumble in the second half.

First quarter

Seahawks 7, Vikings 3

Kasen Williams picked up right where he left off in the preseason opener. Namely, he kept everything from getting picked off. First, he made a diving catch on an 18-yard pass on third-and-4, initially leaping to grab the ball with one hand and then securing it with both hands as he fell to the ground. Then, he leaped up and reached over cornerback Marcus Sherels for a 1-yard touchdown catch on another third-down play.

The Seahawks allowed a field goal on Minnesota’s first drive though Earl Thomas’ hit on a third-down conversion by Stefon Diggs proved that the Seahawks safety is not showing any hesitation as he returns from last year’s season-ending injury to his leg.

SEA – Kasen Williams 1 pass from Russell Wilson at 9:36 (Blair Walsh kick)
MIN – Marshall Koehn 29 field goal at 3:10

Second quarter

Seahawks 14, Vikings 6

Blocks? Mike Davis doesn’t need your stinking blocks. At least not on his 22-yard touchdown catch with just over 2 minutes left in the first half. He caught a screen pass and had just one defender standing between him and the end zone with a blocker in position. At least he should have had a blocker, but Kasen Williams couldn’t have looked any more clueless, and still Davis ran into the end zone in spite of getting no help from his teammates downfield.

The real bummer was that left tackle George Fant left the game midway through the period with his right leg in an air cast after center Justin Britt rolled onto his leg.

SEA – Mike Davis 22 pass from Wilson at 2:04 (Walsh kick)
MIN – Kai Forbath 51 field at 0:09

Injuries: TE Marcus Lucas (ankle), LT George Fant (knee).

Third quarter

Seahawks 20, Vikings 6

Seattle’s new kicker is actually Minnesota’s old kicker, which is why Blair Walsh quite literally made a point over his pair of third-quarter field goals. First, Walsh pointed at Minnesota’s sideline after making a 52-yard field goal in the second minute of the second half. Then, Walsh pointed at his head after making a second 52-yard field goal with just over 5 minutes to go in the third quarter. It should be pointed out that Walsh did not do any pointing after he missed a 53-yard field-goal attempt in the first half.

SEA – Walsh 52 field goal at 13:56
SEA – Walsh 52 field goal at 5:19

Fourth quarter

Seahawks 20, Vikings 13

Nothing really happened in this quarter unless you count Trevone Boykin re-entering the game with 8 minutes to go. Oh, that and Alex Collins fumbling the ball inside the Minnesota 10 in the final 5 minutes, which is really bad news for Collins as ball security has been a recurring problem for him. Oh, and then some guy named Bucky Hodges caught a 21-yard touchdown pass for Minnesota from some guy named Taylor Heinecke with 2:49 left.

MIN – Bucky Hodges 21 pass from Taylor Heinecke at 2:49 (Koehn kick).

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