SEATTLE — Vikings quarterbacks have attempted 70 passes in three preseason games and have yet to throw for a touchdown. That has probably left receiver Bobby Wade wondering what's so difficult about finding an open teammate in the end zone. After all, his only pass has gone for a TD.

Wade's quarterback skills were on display in the second quarter of the Vikings' 30-13 loss Saturday at Seattle. The veteran took a handoff from Tarvaris Jackson, rolled right and just about started to run. Then he saw Visanthe Shiancoe and let fly with a 6-yard pass that the tight end caught in the end zone.

"That was special," said Wade, who also had a game-high five receptions for 85 yards before leaving in the third quarter because of a sprained ankle. "I didn't know if I was ever going to have the chance to do that."

While the play worked as designed, Vikings coach Brad Childress was asked about deciding to run it in the preseason and therefore nullifying some of the surprise factor.

"You're going to make people spend some time defending it," he said. "Maybe it loosens the defense a little bit down there as you go forward. You kind of weigh that. But if somebody is showing a flaw, it's incumbent on us to try to expose that flaw."

Linebacker returns

Vikings linebacker Cameron Siskowic, who was taken from the field by an ambulance late in Saturday's game, was scheduled to be released from a Seattle-area hospital Sunday evening and fly back to the Twin Cities with a Vikings trainer.

Siskowic was down for several minutes after being blocked. Because of concern that Siskowic had suffered head or neck injuries, he was placed on a backboard. Siskowic could be seen moving his fingers as he was put in the ambulance.

A CT scan and X-rays at the hospital showed no fractures, and he was kept overnight for observation.

Cause for concern?

Veteran kicker Ryan Longwell missed a 37-yard field goal attempt Saturday wide right in the first quarter. It was Longwell's second miss of the preseason; he also failed to connect on a 42-yard attempt in the preseason opener against St. Louis.

"It seems like we're having a little bit of trouble finding a range there," Childress said. "He's a golfer, he understands the importance of the short game. That's where all your scoring is."

Longwell did hit from 47 and 49 yards against the Seahawks and is 6-for-8 in three games with a long of 54 yards.

Speaking his mind?

Childress and Shiancoe had words on the sideline Saturday after the tight end was called for a false-start penalty in the third quarter. Asked about the incident, Childress said it was the "heat of the game and I wasn't very happy with it."

The play took the Vikings from a third-and-4 situation at the Seattle 41-yard line to a third-and-9 at the Seattle 46. The Vikings ended up punting.

"You've got to be able to hold your water," Childress said. "That's one of those silent counts, and moving early on those came back and bit us."

Childress admitted Shiancoe wasn't thrilled by the coach's choice of words but added: "if I had to say them again, I'd say them again. He's a professional football player."

Etc.

• Wade sprained his ankle blocking downfield. "I'll be all right," he said.

• Vikings players had Sunday off and will return to practice today.

Judd Zulgad • jzulgad@startribune.com