1. Why is Kirk getting so spooked in the pocket?

The eyeballs say Kirk Cousins is getting gun-shy in the pocket — that he's reacting as if he's under pressure even when he's not. Pro Football Focus has some numbers to confirm. According to PFF, the Vikings quarterback was pressured on only 25 percent of his dropbacks (nine of 36) in Monday night's 21-7 loss at Seattle, but went 0-for-7 with two sacks. This came after last week's game at New England, when Cousins was pressured on only 28.3 percent of his dropbacks yet threw for only 152 yards on 33 attempts from a clean pocket.

2. Where the heck is Kyle Rudolph in all of this?

Vikings tight end Kyle Rudolph's receiving yardage total Monday night: 7 yards. Seahawks backup tackle George Fant's receiving yardage total Monday night: 9 yards. Rudolph had zero yards after the catch. Fant had 7, and would have had more if he hadn't tripped over his own feet. The Patriots and Seahawks got Vikings offensive coordinator John DeFilippo fired with how they were able to double cover both Stefon Diggs and Adam Thielen. While this happened, Rudolph caught five balls for 45 yards in the two losses.

3. Hill holds up nicely at cornerback

Yeah, the Vikings were playing a throwback running team that was without Doug Baldwin and stayed true to form and philosophy with a run-pass ratio of 42-20. But in his second career start, undrafted rookie cornerback Holton Hill looked solid in place of the concussed Trae Waynes. In fact, Hill outplayed reigning first-team All-Pro Xavier Rhodes, who drew two flags, including a 31-yard pass interference. According to PFF, Hill was targeted six times and gave up three catches for 26 yards. He also finished tied for second on the team in tackles with eight.

MARK CRAIG