It's been a difficult month to say the least for the Vikings.
Thirty days ago, Minnesota marched into the Lions den, second-year quarterback J.J. McCarthy returned to the lineup from a high-ankle sprain and the Vikings defeated Detroit 27-24 to get back to 4-4 on the season and move to 2-0 in the NFC North.
On Sunday, the Vikings entered Emerald City looking to not only snap a three-game losing skid. Despite Minnesota's defense allowing just one offensive touchdown on the day, Seattle's defense was even more stifling in a 26-0 shutout.
Minnesota (4-8) held Seattle (9-3) to a season-low 219 yards of total offense, including limiting NFL receiving yards leader Jaxon Smith-Njigba to just two catches for 23 yards on four targets. The Vikings also consistently pressured former QB Sam Darnold; according to Next Gen Stats, Minnesota blitzed at a clip of nearly 64 percent and generated pressure almost 38 percent of the time. When the Vikings brought the blitz, Darnold was just 5-for-9 for 29 yards and was sacked twice (he finished 14-of-26 passing for 128 yards and didn't throw a touchdown or an interception). Minnesota sacked Darnold four times (all in the first half), including two strip sacks by Dallas Turner for his first career multi-sack game.
Seattle, meanwhile, made QB Max Brosmer's first career start for Minnesota a challenging one. The undrafted rookie Brosmer – who filled in for McCarthy after he suffered a concussion at Green Bay last week – finished 19-of-30 passing for 126 yards.
Minnesota's fourth consecutive loss marks its longest streak since the Vikings dropped four straight to close the 2023 season. Sunday's game was also just the ninth time Minnesota has been shut out in franchise history and its first since 2007 (a 34-0 loss at Green Bay in Week 10). Between those two games, the Vikings had not been shut out for 305 consecutive contests (including playoffs), which was the third-longest active streak in the NFL. The only teams with longer active streaks are Baltimore (408 games) and Pittsburgh (328), per NFL Media Research.
The loss not only eliminated Minnesota from NFC North contention, but it caused the Vikings to fall back in this week's Power Rankings. Here's a look at where the Vikings landed going into Week 14:
No. 25 (down 2 spots): Eric Edholm, NFL.com
If J.J. McCarthy struggled in his first six games as Minnesota's QB, Max Brosmer really labored in his initial NFL start. A brutal decision on his pick six started the ball rolling toward a humbling four-INT, four-sack performance. Give Jalen Nailor credit for his hustle play, stripping and recovering the ball on one of those Brosmer picks. And hat tip to Justin Jefferson for not staging a mutiny in what has been the most frustrating season of his career. But even Kevin O'Connell's reputation has taken a hit this season with the team's collective struggles at quarterback, a position he deftly managed a few years back with a game of musical chairs. This has been a maddening season of injury and ineffectiveness across the offense, and the Vikings are steaming toward a fascinating offseason. What that unit will look like a year from now is anyone's guess.
No. 25 (down 3 spots): Brent Sobleski, Bleacher Report
The Vikings are dealing with a disaster of their own making at the game's most important position. Minnesota can't be blamed for injuries to J.J. McCarthy and Carson Wentz, of course. However, the organization chose to move past Sam Darnold this past offseason.
Minnesota has fallen a long way from last season's 14-3 record. The problems start at quarterback.
No. 28 (down 6 spots): Nate Davis, USA Today
Not sure what was worse Sunday − the body language on the sideline while the team was getting shut out in Seattle, or the fact that rookie QB Max Bromser was drawing Nathan Peterman comparisons.
No. 24 (down 1 spot): Josh Kendall, The Athletic
No team has gotten worse quarterback play this season than the Vikings.
No. 24 (down 1 spot): Vinnie Iyer, Sporting News
The Vikings are totally lost at quarterback, and their offense hit a new low for coach Kevin O'Connell. Their defense is doing their best to hold up, but it's not meant to be when they can't score to put extra pressure on opponents.
No. 25 (down 2 spots): Frank Schwab, Yahoo! Sports
Max Brosmer didn't look like the answer at quarterback either. He had 126 yards and four interceptions for a 32.8 passer rating against a good Seahawks defense. The Vikings issue is clear: Their 69.1 passer rating as a team is the worst in the NFL. The last time a team finished a season with a passer rating under 70 was the 2021 Panthers. The Vikings have 19 interceptions in 12 games. You can't compete with quarterback play that bad, no matter how good the rest of the roster might be.
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