Observations from Seahawks’ 26-0 shutout of the Vikings

Led by a dominant defensive performance, the Seattle Seahawks took care of business with a 26-0 win over the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday afternoon.

Seahawks win: Instant Reaction | Stacy Rost’s Takeaways | Recap | Box Score 

With the victory, the Seahawks improved to 9-3 and moved back into a first-place tie atop the NFC West – thanks to the Carolina Panthers’ upset win over the Los Angeles Rams earlier in the day. The Rams still hold the head-to-head tiebreaker over Seattle, but the Seahawks have a Week 16 rematch next month to nullify that.

Here’s what stood out from Seattle’s first shutout since Week 3 of 2015.

Ball-hawking defense overwhelms Vikings

On paper, it was a mismatch. Seattle’s defense is one of the league’s best, while Minnesota’s offense is one of the league’s worst. And on top of that, the Vikings were missing quarterback J.J. McCarthy, left tackle Christian Darrisaw and rookie left guard Donovan Jackson due to injuries. Filling in for McCarthy was undrafted rookie quarterback Max Brosmer, who was making his first career start.

On the field, it played out about as expected.

Seattle’s defense completely overwhelmed the shorthanded Vikings, limiting them to just 162 total yards while picking off Brosmer four times and finishing with a season-high five takeaways. Ernest Jones IV had two interceptions – including an 85-yard pick-six – to give him a team-high five interceptions this year. Coby Bryant and Riq Woolen also snagged interceptions, and DeMarcus Lawrence forced a fumble that Ty Okada recovered.

For as great as their defense has been, the Seahawks entered the day with just 13 takeaways through their first 11 games. They increased that number in a major way on Sunday.

WHAT JUST HAPPENED‼️ 85 yards to the house.#ProBowlVote + @ernestjones

📺: @NFLonFOX pic.twitter.com/AHKHvIhouE

— Seattle Seahawks (@Seahawks) November 30, 2025

D-Law’s big day

Three weeks ago, Lawrence was the beneficiary of a pair of strip-sack fumbles by Tyrice Knight, returning both of them for a pair of touchdowns that broke open blowout victory over the Arizona Cardinals.

On Sunday, it was Lawrence who served as the instigator for a pair of Seahawks takeaways – including a game-swinging defensive score.

With Minnesota facing fourth-and-1 on the Seattle 4-yard line late in the first half, Lawrence came unblocked off the edge and pressured Brosmer into a game-changing mistake. As Brosmer was backpedaling and being pulled to the ground, he flung an underhanded, desperation heave into traffic that Jones intercepted and returned for an 85-yard pick-six. That gave the Seahawks a 10-0 lead and swung the game firmly back into their control.

Watch: Seahawks return INT for TD on wild play

Lawrence struck again in the third quarter, when he caught up to running back Aaron Jones Sr. and knocked the ball free from behind for a fumble that Okada recovered. Lawrence also had a sack and a tackle for loss, continuing an impressive age-33 season for the four-time Pro Bowl defensive end. He now has 5.0 sacks and nine tackles for loss in 11 games this year.

DEFENSE IS COOKING ‼️ @TankLawrence @tyokada

📺: @NFLonFOX pic.twitter.com/ix0jcuRwUs

— Seattle Seahawks (@Seahawks) November 30, 2025

Pass protection struggles

The Seahawks had done a great job of protecting Sam Darnold this season, having allowed an NFL-low 11 sacks through their first 11 games. But the Vikings came in with the league’s highest blitz rate and the second-highest pressure rate, according to Pro Football Reference. And sure enough, Minnesota’s pass rush was a problem for Seattle.

The Vikings sacked Darnold four times in the first half, including a strip-sack fumble that set up Minnesota in the red zone and another strip-sack fumble that Seattle recovered. The other two first-half sacks came on third down, ending a pair of Seahawks drives. The Vikings also pressured Darnold into a third-down throwaway and knocked down several passes at the line of scrimmage.

As a result, Seattle struggled to move the ball for much of the afternoon. The Seahawks were held to a season-low 219 total yards and mustered just four field goals over their first eight possessions until Zach Charbonnet found the end zone on a 17-yard TD run in the fourth quarter.

But on a day when their defense completely dominated, that was still more than enough offense for the Seahawks.

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