Minnesota Vikings @ Seattle Seahawks
Final Score: Seahawks 26, Vikings 0
Senior Writer: Benjamin Haller (@benjaminhaller1.bsky.social on Bluesky)
The Seattle Seahawks stuttered past the Minnesota Vikings in a contest dominated by superb defensive performances from both units. Midway through the second half, Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Justin Jefferson did not have a catch between them in a fantasy nightmare for managers competing for the playoffs. Conservative play-calling from the Seahawks owed much to this as coach Mike MacDonald knew that Minnesota simply couldn’t move the ball. The Seattle defense also terrorized a cowering Minnesota offensive line and aggressive blitzes and tackling saw DeMarcus Lawrence have a day with multiple pressures, QB hits, tackles for loss and a strip sack that effectively made the Vikings wave the white flag in the third quarter trailing 16-0.
The Vikings’ offense is fundamentally broken. Coach Kevin O’Connell needs to take the responsibility for that. Undrafted rookie Max Brosmer was the latest horror show at quarterback for this team that arguable boasts one of the more exciting position-player personnel groups in the NFL. You wouldn’t think it watching them over the 2025 season. Once again, the Vikings struggled with presnap penalties, false starts, miscommunications, missed assignments, poor play calling, terrible execution and abysmal quarterback play. The inexcusable element is that they didn’t throw the ball to Jefferson, or even try to. It’s as much a coaching issue as a player-performance issue. And all this negated a brilliant, violent, determined defensive performance from the Vikings, led by defensive coordinator Brian Flores. Minnesota’s defense limited the Seahawks to just 87 yards at halftime, with Sam Darnold strip-sacked twice, the second resulting in a turnover that set the Vikings up inside the Seattle red zone. The result, a pick-6 the other way as Brosmer attempted to underhand a ball under pressure on fourth down. Disaster. The Vikings only conceded an offensive touchdown late in the fourth quarter with their effort and resilience shattered by the ineptitude of the their offensive performance.
The Vikings kept rolling out the same, ineffective ideas on offense in the second half and the Seahawks played within themselves to see the game out on the ground. A horrible watch, not much fantasy production and a whole lot of frustration.
Two Up
- Seahawks’ defense — 30 fantasy points is always a great result for a defense and in truth it could have been more. This unit is elite and will win someone a matchup week after week playing like this.
- Seahawks rushing attack — Benefiting from a game script in which Seattle could run the ball at will and without consequences, both Kenneth Walker III and Zach Charbonnet enjoyed plenty of touches with the latter rumbling in for the game’s only offensive touchdown in the fourth quarter to complete a comprehensive Seahawks victory.
Three Down
- Justin Jefferson — A wasted game and season for the best wideout in the NFL. There was no plan to get him the ball. Tragic. KOC has shown himself to be a good coach, but this was a performance that deserved a firing.
- Jordan Addison — It’s hard to blame Addison for poor quarterback play but he didn’t help his quarterback either by letting a ball through his hands, a poor drop, and giving up on a number of routes.
- Aaron Jones Sr. — The veteran running back has looked sharp since returning from injury, but he got little opportunity in this game before sustaining a shoulder injury in the third quarter when coughing up the ball on a tackle from Lawrence. Double ouch.
Minnesota Vikings
Quarterback
Max Brosmer: 19/30, 126 Yards, 4 INT, 4 Sacks | 1 Carry, -1 Yards
The worst performances of the season will be a highlight reel of three Vikings quarterbacks in 2025. The latest is Max Brosmer, who looked completely out of his depth, was hindered by bad play-calling, and was left unprotected by a dreadful offensive line performance in what was a massacre in Seattle. Brosmer looked nervous and rushed every dropback from the start, he was consistently under pressure and he could not read the defense alignments, not once. His accuracy was woeful and his footwork nonexistent. He wasn’t helped by a porous offensive line, a receiving group that looked like it had given up by the end of the first quarter, and an offensive game plan that was completely ineffective. Only one of his four interceptions could be considered unlucky — a ball to a heavily covered Jefferson that popped up and into the arms of Ernest Jones. Brosmer’s first interception was a horrendous decision, an attempt to underarm the ball on fourth down in the red zone that was taken the other way for a pick-6 by the aforementioned Jones. He threw another too high to Jordan Addison that was easily picked and there was nowhere to hide. He can’t start another game in the NFL based on this.
Running Back
Jordan Mason: 6 Carries, 47 Yards | 1 Target, 1 Reception, 1 Yards
Jordan Mason only led the team in yards due to two fourth-quarter rushes for 11 and 24 yards, the second accounting for the longest rushing play of the game for Minnesota. Aaron Jones Sr. had left the game with a shoulder injury and Seattle was playing soft leading 26-0. Minnesota’s ground game has ground to a halt this season behind a disappointing offensive line and a gallery of incompetent quarterback play.
Aaron Jones Sr. : 6 Carries, 3 Yards | 4 Targets, 4 Receptions, 22 Yards, Fumble (Lost)
Aaron Jones Sr. saw only four carries in the first half and it didn’t get any better after the break. Jones touched the ball three times, the first two accounting for minus-4 yards and the third a catch-and-run for a short gain before DeMarcus Lawrence stripped the ball from him from behind to force a fumble that Seattle recovered. Jones was in agony coming off the field with a shoulder injury. He did not return.
Xavier Scott: 3 Carries, 17 Yards | 1 Target, 1 Reception, 4 Yards
Wide Receiver/Tight End
T.J. Hockenson: 6 Targets, 6 Receptions, 59 Yards
The tight end was the only productive element of the Vikings’ offense, acting as a safety blanket out of the slot for Brosmer. T.J. Hockenson accounted for the longest offensive play for Minnesota with a 29-yard catch-and-run over the middle in the second half. Once a fantasy relevant tight end, Hockenson has disappeared into mediocrity over the past year through no fault of his own. He is underused and poorly integrated into the game plan.
Jordan Addison: 10 Targets, 5 Receptions, 36 Yards
Another frustrating day through the air for Minnesota saw Jordan Addison record a yardage figure under 50 yards for the seventh time this season — in only nine starts, Addison has just three scores on the year, with two of those coming late in games. Brosmer forced him the ball in the fourth quarter and at least half were uncatchable.
Justin Jefferson: 6 Targets, 2 Receptions, 4 Yards
Head scratching all around. Justin Jefferson was held without a target in the first half and only two catches on the day, one of those bouncing out of his hands under contact into the arms of Jones for another Brosmer interception. The camera showed Jefferson off the field at every moment in the second half as drive after drive went begging. He didn’t look frustrated, he looked disillusioned. He has lost confidence in this offense and that is on the organization for putting the team in this situation. Last year, they had Daniel Jones and Sam Darnold in the building, but let them both walk. Jefferson hasn’t had a chance with any quarterback this season.
Jalen Nailor: 1 Target
The talented young receiver, underused and under appreciated, was the target on a high throw from Brosmer over the middle that went through his outstretched hands and into the arms of the Seattle secondary for the third interception of the game. Rough.
Seattle Seahawks
Quarterback
Sam Darnold: 14/26, 128 Yards, 4 Sacks, Fumble (Lost)
The indiscretions of Brosmer and the Vikings’ offense masked another disappointing fantasy performance from Seattle’s quarterback. Darnold was pressured heavily and not necessarily by consistent blitzing. The Vikings enjoyed getting to the quarterback on four-man rushes, too. Eric Wilson was a menace from the linebacker position and twice got to Darnold, his forced fumble luckily recovered by tight end Elijah Arroyo. Darnold was completely befuddled by defensive coordinator Brian Flores‘ looks and his 128 passing yards were a season low. He failed to throw a touchdown pass for the second time in three games as his 3.12 fantasy points were also a season low. After a stellar first half of the season, Darnold is regressing to the lower end of the fantasy quarterback spectrum.
Running Back
Kenneth Walker III: 13 Carries, 56 Yards | 4 Targets, 3 Receptions, 18 Yards
Kenneth Walker III enjoyed volume and saw some valuable PPR points in the passing game in a low-scoring offensive performance to salvage his fantasy day. Still, only one rushing touchdown in his last nine contests is alarming especially as running mate Zach Charbonnet once again hit paydirt (his eighth of the season). This offense is built around the run and while that once again played out in this game, the lack of big-play ability this season has reduced Walker’s effectiveness. It is also more of a committee approach than last season, with Charbonnet enjoying short-yardage work around the goal line.
Zach Charbonnet: 14 Carries, 52 Yards, TD
Seattle’s two backs chopped and changed opportunities throughout the game with average production until Zach Charbonnet broke off a 17-yard rush into the end zone after yet another Vikings turnover with less than 9 minutes left in the game. It was the straw that broke the camel’s back as the gassed Vikings defense finally submitted to consistent pressure in their own territory. Charbonnet did well to drive through two tackles to keep his feet and then use his blockers to go outside for the score. The change-of-pace back has seen less pass-catching work this season but has been more successful in short-yardage situations and more importantly in the red zone. That once again proved to be the case.
Myles Gaskin: 3 Carries, 6 Yards
Wide Receiver/Tight End
AJ Barner: 5 Targets, 4 Receptions, 35 Yards | 1 Carry, 2 Yards
The tight end led the team in targets, catches and yards and also converted an early fourth down on a direct snap rush up the middle. On a day when Darnold couldn’t escape pressure and find his receivers deep down field, AJ Barner was a nice safety blanket over the middle. Not that this in any way is considered acceptable production on a fantasy level.
Cooper Kupp: 4 Targets, 3 Receptions, 24 Yards
The former prolific Rams receiver has fallen off the fantasy radar in Seattle this year playing second-fiddle to Jaxon Smith-Njigba. Kupp has seen little love in terms of targets and when he has they have been on short routes with little chance to impact the stat line. Kupp now has three straight games under 25 yards receiving and has only one touchdown on the year. Yikes!
Jaxon Smith-Njigba: 4 Targets, 2 Receptions, 23 Yards
Fantasy managers’ despair. The only thing worse than starting Jaxon Smith-Njigba in your matchup this week was probably also starting Jefferson. The two combined for four catches and 27 yards. Unthinkable. This was a game to forget for both offenses, but that doesn’t help fantasy managers. JSN has been prolific this season, so we can only hope this is a blip. Darnold missed his leading receiver on two throws low on third downs that we have usually seen go for big plays.
Cody White: 1 Target, 1 Reception, 21 Yards
Rashid Shaheed: 3 Targets, 1 Reception, 7 Yards | 1 Carry, 9 Yards
Elijah Arroyo: 2 Targets