Four Down Territory: Seahawks shut door on Vikings, as NFC West door opens

It feels weird when a Seattle Seahawks shutout victory is not the biggest news in Seahawksland, it really was a big day for the future of this season.

As Seattle dominated the lifeless Minnesota Vikings 26-0, they not only improved to 9-3, their best record this late into the season since starting 10-2 in 2019, but they are now tied for the best record in the NFC. We’ll talk more about why they’re tied later on, but first let’s talk about what we saw from the Seahawks on Sunday.

First Down – Poor Max Brosmer

I legitimately feel bad for Max Brosmer. Like the cow that was dropped into the Raptor cage in Jurassic Park, Brosmer had no shot against the Seattle defense. Going 19 for 33 for a measly 126 yards, Max was sacked four times and threw four interceptions, including one of the most embarrassing pick-six’s you’ll ever see to Ernest Jones.

It was fitting on the first drive to see Leonard Williams absolutely demolish free agent miss Will Fries to get the first official sack (sorry Uchenna). That contract has been an absolute disaster so far, much like the Vikings season. Going 14-3 last season with a top ten MVP vote getter at QB with Sam Darnold, the Vikings made the decision to give the keys to JJ McCarthy and spend big in free agency. The consequences of these decisions could be the defining decision of the 2025 NFL season.

No, Sam Darnold didn’t destroy the Vikings and get the perfect revenge game, but he’s elevated this team’s floor and ceiling. The Seahawks are true championship contenders and Darnold is a massive reason why, and on a terrific team friendly contract.

In Minnesota, it legitimately looks like McCarthy can’t play, and we know Brosmer is probably not even backup QB worthy. The Vikings look old, bad, and expensive. Things could get ugly for the next two plus years for the Vikings, a team that was playing for the one seed in the final week of the season last year.

Second Down – About that Sam Darnold revenge game…

Like I said above, Sam didn’t get the chance to show off what Minnesota is missing, and that’s because of the struggles the offense faced on Sunday. Brian Flores, who probably deserves a second chance to lead an NFL franchise again, made life hell for Darnold and the Seahawks offensive line.

A man of his word from his comments about Sam earlier in the week, Flores threw the kitchen sink at Seattle, blitzing like crazy, and it worked. Throughout the afternoon, Darnold was harassed constantly, getting sacked four times, including a fumble lost. Going only 14/26 for 128 yards, it was one of the least impressive performances so far for Sam as a Seahawk.

I don’t think he necessarily played badly, as the pass protection was a real problem. For the third straight game, Darnold felt like he was under more consistent pressure and Klint Kubiak was not able to quickly adjust or find that explosive score we’re so used to seeing.

I’ve tried to stay out of the Anthony Bradford discourse, and I need to watch the All-22, but it really felt like that might’ve been Bradford’s last start. The line is not bad, but it’s not playing well. It needs a spark, and believe they just have to make a move, cause the Bradford experience feels like it has run its course.

Third Down – The full Mike Macdonald experience

When the Seahawks travel to Atlanta to take on the Falcons on Sunday, it will be Mike Macdonald’s 30th game as the Seattle Seahawks head coach. Fans have been fortunate enough to watch a defensive wizard develop into a highly successful all-around head coach. We’ve seen his style and personality on and off the field evolve through the last season and a half. On Sunday, I felt like we saw the full experience of him as a coach.

With the Rams loss undoubtedly reaching his ear, and every soul inside of Lumen Field, it felt like a door had reopened for the Seahawks. The game on Sunday felt like a championship caliber team getting a prickly Wild Card in the divisional round. You’re way better than Minnesota, and as long as you don’t give. The game away, you’ll win. It felt like Macdonald was coaching a playoff game.

We saw a conservative approach on offense, as the pass protection just wasn’t there. For 90% of the game, the focus almost felt intentionally about getting field goals and just trying not to turn the ball over. Even that two minute drill at the end of the first half felt wildly conservative.

I’d take more offense, but Macdonald was also orchestrating one of the most dominant defensive performances in Seahawks history. This is undoubtedly the best defense we have seen since the 2014-2015 season, and Mike is at the forefront of this renaissance. The physicality and athleticism, combined with the schematic brilliance and team confidence in what they have, has created something so special it is “Super.”

As conservative as Mike can be on offense, he calls a defensive game that is filled with a dominant and aggressive mentality, despite the low blitz percentages. It feels like whenever he does decide to unleash an exotic blitz, it’s a guaranteed sack or play that gets blown up.

I will give him credit, in the later stages of the game, he did decide to go for it on fourth and short. I think he realized that the offense needed to see a touchdown from their side of the ball, and it truly made me feel much better about how that entire affair ended.

The Seahawks may be going through some offensive struggles, but when push came to shove, they were able to run the ball effectively enough, and make a few big plays, while riding their defense to 9-3. That’s going to be the recipe to running the table in the final five games of the season. I think the Seahawks are already mentally in playoff mode, and we saw Mike coach as such on Sunday.

Fourth Down – An apology to Bryce Young

Anyone who talks NFL draft with me knows that I’m probably the biggest Bryce Young hater out there. I had him as a late 2nd round pick on my draft board. I thought he was a career backup, with fantastic leadership skills and qualities. With his small size and lack of elite athleticism, him being the top overall pick felt like a joke.

While I still believe I am mostly correct on this take, I was so happy to be wrong on Sunday, as Bryce Young had arguably his best career game, helping the Panthers stay alive in the playoff chase, while stunning the Rams. Considering how dominant the Rams have looked, this feels like one of the biggest upsets of the season, and has flipped the NFC standings.

The Bears, Rams, Seahawks and Packers feel like they are in a four-way battle for the #1 seed. With all due respect to what the Bears are doing this season, the other three teams feel more real and more realistic in their journey to home field and the invaluable wildcard bye. The Packers and Bears have yet to play each other this year. Chicago still has to host a desperate Lions team and travel to San Francisco. The Packers have to play at Denver, who is chasing the No. 1 seed in the AFC. The Rams will have to deal with the said desperate Lions the week before coming to Seattle for part II of their intense battle. The Seahawks still have Indianapolis and Los Angeles before finishing the year at Carolina and San Francisco.

Again, the road is treacherous, but if Seattle wins out, they are almost a lock to be the top seed in the NFC. The Seahawks have been the top seed three times before in franchise history…they won the NFC all three times. I’ve been saying it all year, I think whoever wins the NFC West will represent the NFC in the Super Bowl. We’re close to finding out what the Seahawks are made of.