MINNEAPOLIS (Ticker) -- The Minnesota Vikings had Matt Hasselbeck reminiscing about elementary school.
Daunte Culpepper threw three touchdown passes of at least 40 yards, two to Randy Moss, and the Vikings kept one of the NFL's best offenses in check in a 34-7 rout of the Seattle Seahawks.
Culpepper passed for 274 yards, exploiting a shell-shocked secondary with TDs of 47 and 45 yards to Moss and 43 yards to Kelly Campbell. After establishing their run game, the Vikings went deep at will.
"It was like recess," said Hasselbeck, Seattle's quarterback. "It's like, `Hey, you go long,' and they go long. They're the best in the NFL at it."
Culpepper completed 21-of-33 passes for 274 yards, Moss finished with eight catches for 133 yards and Michael Bennett rushed 25 times for 103 yards, leading Minnesota's balanced attack.
"They showed us something different," Seahawks cornerback Ken Lucas said. "They wanted to make us come up and tackle. We did that the first couple of series. They opened up their game plan and we allowed some plays that we shouldn't have."
Minnesota's much-maligned defense did the rest as Seattle recorded a season low in points. The Seahawks were fifth in the NFL in scoring offense, averaging 26.9 points - 36.6 in their last three games.
"We were poor on offense today," Seahawks coach Mike Holmgren said. "I don't think we pass-protected very well, we made penalties, we dropped passes. There's no way that I expect it to be that way."
Especially against the Vikings, who had not exactly been shutting down opponents, allowing 295 points - the fourth-highest total in the league - entering the day. They were coming off a 48-17 loss in St. Louis.
"We just keep hoping people keep saying how sorry our defense is, how we can't do this or can't do that," safety Corey Chavous said. "It gets us fired up."
Last season, the Seahawks blew out the Vikings, 48-23, as Shaun Alexander set an NFL record with five touchdowns in the first half. The game was televised nationally on Sunday night.
"Last year, what they did to us on national TV, everybody who played last year definitely had that on their minds," Culpepper said.
The Vikings (8-5) recorded just their second win in seven games following a 6-0 start and remained a game ahead of Green Bay for first place in the NFC North Division. They can clinch the division title with a win next week and a Packers' loss.
Despite alternating wins and losses in their last eight games, the Seahawks (8-5) remain in control of one of the NFC's two wild card spots. They visit St. Louis next week.
