Playing quarterback for the Vikings this year has evolved into the ultimate gut check.

Behind another iteration of the offensive line, missing the entire starting left side, Max Brosmer substituted for J.J. McCarthy and tried hard to overcome the latest challenges of the 2025 season.

Minnesota lost 26-0 at Seattle on Sunday to fall to 1-6 since its bye and 4-8 with five games remaining.

The undrafted rookie Brosmer finished his starting debut 19-of-30 passing with 126 yards and four interceptions. He was sacked four times and averaged 4.2 yards per attempt. His passer rating was 32.8.

As an offense, Minnesota managed a single drive longer than five plays. It was an eight-play jaunt into enemy territory with 9:11 left – and the Vikings already trailing by 26 – that ended with an interception.

Sometimes, it's misleading to look at the box score and paint a picture of the contest. But Sunday's stat sheet summarized Minnesota's unsightly performance in the Pacific Northwest: one trip to the red zone, two conversions on 10 third downs; 96 net pass yards; 25:39 time of possession; and 3.2 yards per play.

"We just did not have the type of an offensive performance that is ever going to be acceptable with the Minnesota Vikings organization," Vikings Head Coach Kevin O'Connell shared afterwards. "And that obviously starts with me, and it's not about any one particular player or position. It's a collective group thing right now, where we just are not good enough. And to overcome some of the things that we're doing, overcoming some injuries up front, and overcoming some of the things that are happening, we've got to find a way to put the game plan together, as simple as it needs to be, or as tight as it needs to be from a play count standpoint, just to get a little bit better execution and get some of the things that winning football looks like, and try to play our part offensively with the other two phases on our team."

Veteran reserves Justin Skule and Blake Brandel filled in at left tackle and left guard for Christian Darrisaw and Donovan Jackson, both of whom sustained injuries at Green Bay. Center Ryan Kelly suffered a hip injury and was replaced mid-game by second-year seventh-rounder Michael Jurgens.

Minnesota didn't run the ball effectively until the game was all but final. In total, it racked up 66 rush yards. Jordan Mason produced 24 on a rumble up the middle with less than seven minutes on the clock.

The lowest low arrived in a 3-0 game, soon after Dallas Turner strip-sacked former Vikings QB Sam Darnold and Jalen Redmond recovered the football at the Seahawks 13. In succession, Brosmer handed off on first down, nailed a short completion on second and then zipped a pass near the chains on third.

That set up a fourth-and-1 with 3:14 to go before halftime.

On the decisive down, O'Connell opted against a run for a play-action pass that rolled Brosmer to his right. He never had a chance to throw to the flat as Seahawks OLB DeMarcus Lawrence flew at him untouched off the edge. But instead of settling for a sack or flipping the ball out of bounds, Brosmer daringly underhanded a pass toward TE Josh Oliver, who was in the vicinity but covered by defenders.

Seattle LB Ernest Jones IV snatched it in stride and sprinted 85 yards the opposite way for a touchdown.

After "getting the turnover we've been so desperately waiting for," O'Connell, who said he thought Brosmer was maybe processing too quickly early on, called the low-red zone execution "losing football."

"We had struggled to run it up until that point," O'Connell noted. "So, we wanted to try to see if we [could] get Max out on the perimeter with kind of a run-pass option. And they ended up kind of having a looping player, kind of in his face right away. Fourth down, he's trying to make a play, and just ends up being obviously catastrophically bad. Because one of the reasons why you go for that in that moment, is even if you don't get it, the field position is going to be on your side, with the defense playing really well.

"I've got to call a better play there," he added. "Got to decide the best option for us to try to limit that ever being the outcome in that scenario, but also give us a chance to score, because we knew we'd have to score some points to win the game, and to try to capture the momentum off that turnover with 7."

Brosmer elaborated "I was, maybe, half-a-click fast to the reads" in certain instances and was aiming for a balance between anticipating some of his throws and feeling out the flow of the game, and the pocket.

"I got to a couple routes too quickly today, and we could have had some bigger hits on those completions," Brosmer said at his postgame presser. "There's a very small gap where if you throw it too early it's not going to be, you know – there's no chance to complete it. But that's a learning moment for me, and something that I'll continue to draw on from here and use it as experience for the next time."

Running back Aaron Jones, Sr., reached 10,000 career scrimmage yards in the first quarter Sunday and was heavily involved on the team's first two possessions, totaling 25 yards on six touches (three catches).

Jones reached the benchmark on a 13-yard screen pass. It was one of nine completions overall and one of a handful of attempts close to the line of scrimmage for Brosmer in the first half. The 24-year-old QB tried for Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison down the field a couple times but was off-target on several throws. The receivers also didn't do Brosmer any favors – a pass each was in their hands but hit the turf.

Jefferson had zero catches on two targets at the half, and Addison nabbed three of six looks for 17 yards. The talented receivers combined for seven receptions (16 targets) and 40 yards of which Addison had 36.

Brosmer's longest completion of the game was for 29 up the seam to T.J. Hockenson early in the third frame. Momentum from the gain was short-lived, though. On the next snap, Jones was tackled for a loss of 4. Two plays later, he fumbled on a checkdown on third-and-14 and the sea birds took over at their 37.

The unit's second turnover led to Seattle's fourth field goal – for a 19-0 lead – and a shoulder injury for Jones, who was tomahawked by Lawrence and was unable to return to the game after being evaluated.

Minnesota's self-implosion continued on its next drive, and again right after a positive sequence. After moving the sticks with a short completion to Hockenson, who finished Week 13 with a season-high 59 receiving yards, Brosmer found Jefferson for the first time. Jefferson's first catch lost 4 yards; the negative, however, was offset by an unnecessary roughness flag on Seahawks rookie S Nick Emmanwori.

On the subsequent snap, Brosmer threw high for Jalen Nailor, and CB Coby Bryant laid out for an interception. When the Vikings got possession back, Ernest Jones double-dipped and picked off Brosmer on a deflected pass intended for Jefferson. Brosmer's fourth INT happened when he underthrew Addison on a route inside Seattle's 10; Riq Woolen jumped in front of it and returned it 30 yards but coughed up the ball when Nailor tackled him. Despite the receiver recovering it and the Vikings retaining possession, they failed to score any points, due to an offensive holding and a pair of sacks for a total loss of 25 yards.

The gross turnover margin – 5:2 in favor of Seattle – was the continuation of a trend for Minnesota, regardless of its QB. The team hasn't protected the ball or found a figment of complementary football.

Darnold was sacked four times, like Brosmer, and passed for just 2 more yards than him. But one QB avoided costlier mistakes, the other learned some valuable lessons that he can make use of in the future.

In the wake of it, O'Connell reflected on his dialogue with Brosmer after his first start: "This is great experience for him," the coach said. " 'It won't get harder than going to Seattle for your first start against that defense.' And he's such a competitor, and he wants to obviously come out here and lead this team to a win. But I told him, that's great experience and unbelievable learning out [there], knowing what it felt like, knowing, you know, how you were seeing it, and maybe, you know, even able to, as you get maybe more experience – which Max is going to play a long time in this league – you'll start to be able to, the game will slow down a little bit; even though he is what we believe to be a fast processor."

Brosmer credited the Vikings "very, very special" locker room for raising his spirit in tough circumstances.

"The ability to stay together after a tough loss and tough plays, tough drives, is really hard to do in the NFL. It's hard to do in college, but in the NFL, it's really hard to do, and that's one of our team superpowers," Brosmer said. "I felt their love, I felt their support. And they don't have to do that, like, they could just let me be and and move on with their next drive, or after the game for the next game. But they don't do that and our team doesn't do that. You feel the support here, and whether you play well or had a tough day, you're going to get the same support and same love from the rest of the team."

View the 2025 Vikings Schedule.

See the Vikings 2026 Opponents.

Check out the Vikings 2026 Draft Picks.

View future opponents for the Vikings.

Buy single game tickets.

Download the official Vikings App.