Takeaways: Vikings shut out in Seattle, losing to former QB Sam Darnold

SEATTLE – The Vikings have a fresh addition to their list of horrible days in Seattle.

Seven years after they were nearly blanked by the Seahawks in a Monday night game that led to the firing of offensive coordinator John DeFilippo, the Vikings left Lumen Field without any points on Sunday, losing 26-0 to the Seahawks. It was the Vikings’ fourth consecutive loss.

It was the first time the Vikings have been shut out since a 34-0 loss to the Packers in 2007, as Max Brosmer became the first Vikings quarterback to throw four interceptions since Joshua Dobbs did it against the Bears in 2023.

“In no way, shape or form can we play offensive football like that and try to win at a place like this,” coach Kevin O’Connell said. “I did think our defense played as well as they could, considering the amount of lift that they had to do today. I thought we had some moments in the kicking game, field position-wise. We just did not have the type of offensive performance that is ever going to be acceptable in the Minnesota Vikings organization.”

Brosmer, starting in place of the injured J.J. McCarthy, completed 19 of his 30 passes for 126 yards, on a day where both O’Connell and the quarterback said he might have been operating too quickly for the Vikings’ timing-based offense. Brosmer missed a throw for Jordan Addison before he finished his break and hit Justin Jefferson on just two of his six targets. Jefferson, who finished with a career-low four yards, declined to speak with reporters through a team official before leaving the locker room.

“It’s difficult to make that adjustment [during the game],” Brosmer said. “Honestly, it comes from experience. I could have done a better job through the rest of the game of noticing that quicker, maybe, and trying to slow myself down a little more. I pride myself on trying to get the ball out in a timely fashion. But sometimes when it’s too fast, the rest of the concept doesn’t develop the way it’s supposed to. And schematically speaking, we had some great concepts today that end up opening up pretty well. And whether it was a tick too fast getting there, or move the spot to try to get there quicker, it’s something you have to learn and go through.”

The Vikings, again, were incapable of sustaining a drive on offense. The effort seems likely to extinguish calls for Brosmer to take over for McCarthy long term. The Vikings had six first downs in the game’s first 51 minutes, as Brosmer threw four interceptions and misfired on several other throws, and Aaron Jones Sr.’s fumble set up a Seahawks field goal. Their first successful run of the game came when Jordan Mason gained 11 yards in the fourth quarter, and they held the ball for just 25:39, forcing their defense into an untenable situation.

“For us to put that out there week after week and not get the results, it definitely stings,” safety Josh Metellus said. “I think that if we didn’t have the right collection of guys in here, it would sting a lot more. Every time we lose, we come in here and we band together, we bring it up, and you get that sense of, ‘There’s still a chance’. I know the guys in this room, and I know we’re going to keep working towards something that we’re proud of to put on tape.”

At 4-8, the Vikings’ playoff hopes are all but dead. They will return home to face the Commanders next week, before road games against the Cowboys and Giants, but their season at this point is, again, about what they can get out of McCarthy when he returns from his concussion.

O’Connell said after the game that McCarthy is still in the concussion protocol “as of right now,” but “our goal is he clears and he can have a good week of practice and have an opportunity to play next week.”

Dallas Turner, who had two strip sacks against Darnold, put the Vikings in position to take the lead in the second quarter when he beat a chip block from former Gophers tight end Nick Kallerup and knocked the ball out of Darnold’s hand with an overhand chop, setting Jalen Redmond up to recover the ball at the Seahawks’ 13.

After Turner’s strip sack, the Vikings, trailing 3-0, had a fourth-and-1 from the 4. O’Connell opted to go for it, calling a play-action power pass that had Brosmer rolling to his right after a fake to C.J. Ham. With Lawrence grabbing Brosmer’s left arm, the quarterback submarined a pass toward Josh Oliver, but linebacker Ernest Jones IV intercepted it and rolled 85 yards into the end zone to make it 10-0 Seahawks.

Dec. 7 vs. Washington, noon (Fox)

The Vikings (4-8) come home to face the Commanders (3-9) in a matchup of two 2024 playoff teams whose seasons have crumbled. Washington, which reached the NFC Championship Game last season, lost at home to Denver 27-26 in overtime Sunday night, losing their seventh in a row when Nick Bonitto swatted Marcus Mariota’s two-point conversion pass.