What do you say about a silly, stupid football game like Sunday's?

You could say it was cold. The football game sure looked cold, huh? Right? Like it was really cold? I once was somewhere colder than Minnesota was on Sunday, and the fact that I remember that cold day ten years ago speaks to how fucking cold it was. It was cold.

You could also say the Seahawks won, 10-9 over the Minnesota Vikings. But that win only came after a series of improbable events each more improbable than what came before. It hardly felt like a win.

I suppose I have to say the Seahawks were lucky on Sunday. They didn't lose when Blair Walsh lined up a 27-yard field-goal attempt in the fourth quarter. There was too much time left on the clock and the Seahawks had the wind. A response was possible in the form of a big kick return or a deep pass to Tyler Lockett. A block was also possible. Richard Sherman had just missed blocking Walsh's previous kick. But as Sherman said afterward, "It was dire."

I should definitely say it never occurred to me Walsh could miss. When he was lining up, a shank never entered my mind. But then it happened, and the game was over. Seattle escaped Minnesota.

I think what I want to say is this: It was cool, it was cold, it was stupid, it was lovely. I am grateful for the outcome and the opportunity to break it down further. Let's break it down further:

• After playing quite poorly in their last matchup with Seattle, the Vikings played really well on Sunday. Their defense did a great job of bracketing Russell Wilson in the pocket and then collapsing it from the front. On plays without designed movement, Wilson was often trapped against a very physical Minnesota defensive front, and even some of his designed roll-outs were snuffed out by a healthy Minnesota defense.

I imagine Wilson is going to be haunted by Vikings defensive lineman Everson Griffen to the point where I'm going to have nightmares where I'm Wilson having nightmares about Griffen. Then right as Griffen is about to drag me down, I'll wake up as Wilson, be in bed next to Ciara, and scream. Then she'll be like, "It's okay, honey," and I'll be like, "Wait, I'm Russell Wilson?" And then I'll wake up again and still be me. And then I'll scream, because who wants to stop being Russell Wilson? Haunting.

• The Vikings were also infuriatingly well coached. Mike Zimmer used his team's timeouts effectively, went for it on fourth down when it made sense, and, final moment aside, used his kicking game as well as he could given the circumstances. The Seahawks, on the other hand, used their timeouts like they have 15 timeouts per half rather than the officially allotted three. This was infuriating. I yelled so loud after a timeout that Wilson took early in the third quarter that my dog left the room.

• Michael Bennett had one of the most dominant defensive performances I have ever seen from a Seahawks player. Bennett was unblockable from every angle, dominating every member of the Vikings offensive line at one point or another. The NFL's leading rusher, Adrian Peterson, was, for the second straight outing against the Seahawks, wholly nullified. Bennett was a massive part of that nullification.

Defensive tackle Ahtyba Rubin was also great on Sunday, amassing six tackles and a fumble recovery. Rubin came over from the Browns in the offseason on a relatively inexpensive deal to replace Kevin Williams in the Seahawks defensive front. He's been great all year, and another example of John Schneider's ability to use the free-agent market to shore up his defensive line. The Seahawks don't rely on big money acquisitions as a rule, which is wise in the NFL, but the one place where they've been able to go get help is up front on defense. Bennett is the best example, but Rubin's been a hell of a bargain. God, the whole defense is so damn good.

• Well, there's one weird exception to the quality of Seattle's defense. Kam Chancellor was bad on Sunday. This despite being given NBC's game ball, and despite making one of the plays of the game forcing a fumble from Adrian Peterson.

Chancellor's hips were not rotating in coverage. He looked flat-footed when asked to cover intermediate routes. Chancellor got beat deep a few times and missed an alarming number of tackles. This might be a lingering effect of his injury, or simply an exploitation of his limitations within coordinator Kris Richard's defensive scheme. Either way, it's a problem.

Fortunately, Earl Thomas covered for him on one potential huge gain, and the weather and Vikings quarterback Teddy Bridgewater's arm covered in a bunch of other moments. But Chancellor was the hole in the Seattle defense, and it's a hole that needs to be filled before next Sunday.

Chancellor was also the problem the first time that Seattle played Carolina. I know it's unlikely, but I hope that Pete Carroll lets reserve safety Kelcie McCray compete for some snaps. McCray was solid in relief for Chancellor, and seemed far less vulnerable on the tight-end seam routes that have destroyed the Seahawks when Chancellor has been in the lineup.

• Russell Wilson was also not particularly good on Sunday. He was less efficient than his counterpart, Bridgewater. I would wager the brutal cold was a factor. Also, his headset kept going out. Still, it was strange to watch the Seahawks and think, "Fuck, they are helpless on offense."

And it's not that the Seahawks have been consistently dominant on offense this year or over the whole of Wilson's tenure. They haven't, though obviously for stretches they've been spectacular. Sunday, however, showed Wilson at his least explosive in months, and that was tough to watch.

• Christine Michael was good at running back, which is good because Marshawn Lynch didn't play, which was bad. The Lynch story is threatening to become a debacle, so I'm personally assuming the following emotional stance: Assume the worst. I'm treating any snaps he takes for the rest of his career as a Seahawk as gravy. That way, I'm not priming myself for disappointment that will taint my love and respect for what Lynch has done for the Hawks in the past. I recommend adopting a similar stance this week to stay sane.

• Doug Baldwin made a catch on Sunday that was truly spectacular, and in so doing changed the way I think about Baldwin. For all of Baldwin's success this year, I've still thought of him as best a Golden Tate/Julian Edelman-type receiver. I never considered for even a moment the possibility, despite all his touchdowns, that he was maybe approaching the top tier of receivers (inhabited by the likes Odell Beckham and Antonio Brown). Now I don't know.

Baldwin may not just be a good player on a hot streak. He might be a great player that has taken his game to another level. Either of these things is cool and good. With the Panthers and Cardinals and Packers all missing their slot cornerbacks, he may feast over the next couple of games.

• Jon Ryan broke his nose after turning a low snap into an opportunity to go full Ninja Warrior on the Vikings early in the first half. He then punted a few more times. If I broke my nose in zero-degree weather? I wouldn't blog for a month. Kudos to Ryan for being tougher than I am. Kudos to all of you for being tougher than I am. And kudos to me for not breaking my nose in the last month so I can deliver you this blog post.

• There was so much in this game. So so much. And it was a 10-9 game the Seahawks by all rights should have lost. I'm hardly prepared for what happens when the Seahawks play a really good team under normal conditions.

I think the biggest takeaway here is to be grateful. The glaciers are melting, Bowie's dead, Ted Cruz is polling well, football itself is a gladiatorial nightmare. Things, broadly speaking, suck. But by aligning ourselves with the Seahawks, we've gotten an unprecedented run of real emotions, and most have them have been good.

I mean, think about it. Four years in a row with a playoff win. Four years without an 11-plus point loss. So many comebacks and near misses, and great wins and spectacular plays. Some of the best and worst feelings of my life have come watching Seahawks football over the past few years.

And yes, caring that much about football is silly. It is. I get that. But it's also so cool when it works. And with this generation of Seahawks teams it works a lot of the time.