The Seattle Seahawks were thoroughly outplayed last Sunday night by the Green Bay Packers. This week, they go on the road to play one of the three teams that have defeated the Packers this season. Their trip to Minnesota to take on the 12-2 Minnesota Vikings appears to be a daunting task indeed. The Vikings boast a dangerous offense and a dynamic defense.
After chasing the Detroit Lions much of the year, they look toward the playoffs with a very real chance of catching Detroit and claiming the NFC North – the league’s toughest division. They have a decent shot at a number-one seed. With all that on the line, Kevin O’Connell is likely to have his team fired up for this Sunday’s game.
For a 12-2 team, the Vikings have been flying largely under the radar in 2024. Let’s take a quick look at the team that awaits Seattle in U.S. Bank Stadium this Sunday.
Scouting the Seahawks Week 16 opponents
Last season
Minnesota had a forgettable 2023. They got off to a miserable start, going 1-4 through the first five weeks. Then, coach Kevin O’Connell and quarterback Kirk Cousins began to get things turned around. A couple of solid wins over San Francisco and Green Bay revealed a team that could play with anyone.
Just when it looked like the Vikings were going to make a strong playoff push in the second half of the season, disaster struck. They lost long-time starting quarterback Cousins and really had no answer. With journeymen backups Josh Dobbs and Nick Mullens under center, even the creative offensive mind of O’Connell could not salvage the season. They managed to win a couple games with Dobbs calling the signals to reach 6-4 before dropping six of their final seven.
By the time the season was over, everyone knew the Minnesota Viking team that took the field in 2024 would look nothing like the one that finished the 2023 season.
Off-season
GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah hit the free agency period hard. His drafts over the last three years have not been especially good, but no one has found more gems in the free agent market.
The first order of business was cleaning house. Cousins left for a big contract in Atlanta. The Vikings parted ways with running back Alexander Mattison and wide receiver K.J. Osborn. Guard Ezra Cleveland signed with Jacksonville. On defense, long-time fixture Danielle Hunter went to Houston.
Adofo-Mensah began scooping up replacements immediately. Though he lost Hunter to Houston, he snapped up a couple of younger, less-heralded defenders from Demeco Ryans’ Texans – linebackers Jonathan Greenard and Blake Cashman. He further bolstered his defense with Andrew Van Ginkel, who had played under defensive coordinator Brian Flores in Miami. The Vikings added Jerry Tillery, Kamu Grugier-Hill, and former Seahawk Shaquill Griffin to provide veteran depth on the line, at linebacker, and in the secondary respectively.
The Vikes didn’t sign as many players on the offensive side of the ball, but the two they did lock up were at crucial positions. Minnesota inked journeyman QB Sam Darnold and veteran running back Aaron Jones to essentially replace Cousins and Mattison. The Darnold signing was viewed as a short-term patch until some as-yet-unknown young QB was ready to take over.
It didn’t take long to identify that QB-of-the-future. Adofo-Mensah used his first-round draft pick – the tenth pick overall – to select J.J. McCarthy, the QB who had just led the Michigan Wolverines to the NCAA national championship.
A few picks later, he added disruptive edge defender Dallas Turner. Toward the end of the draft, he chose kicker Will Reichard.
In the fourth round, the Vikings took promising cornerback Khyree Jackson from Oregon. A few months later, Jackson and two friends were killed in a traffic accident in his hometown of Upper Marlboro, Maryland. O’Connell has spoken about how that tragedy has been a part of the Vikings season.
This season
J.J. McCarthy was just 21 when the Vikings drafted him. Almost everyone assumed that veteran Sam Darnold would serve as a place holder until O’Connell deemed McCarthy ready to take over. Those plans changed when the rookie tore his meniscus in the pre-season. With McCarthy out for the year, Darnold had no real challengers.
The former number-three draft pick who had bounced around the league during his undistinguished six-year career responded beyond all reasonable expectations. Playing for a creative offensive coach and with a strong supporting cast, Darnold has blossomed into one of the league’s top QBs in 2024. He has elevated his career 42.1 QBR entering this season to 61.1. He has a quarterback rating over 100 for the first time in his career. He has thrown 29 touchdowns against 11 interceptions.
Darnold is clearly aided by throwing to one of the best wideouts in the league in Justin Jefferson. Jefferson is second in the league in total receiving yards and is the only player among the league leaders in receptions to average better than 15-yards-per-catch. He has found the end zone eight times. Clearly, job one for the Seahawks defense is limiting the damage done by Justin Jefferson.
But Darnold has other dangerous weapons at his disposal. Jordan Addison is also averaging better than 15-yards-per-catch on 51 receptions with seven touchdowns. He is coming off a monster game against Atlanta. Third receiver Jalen Nailor has just 19 catches this season but is averaging just under 15-yards and has scored five TDs. Clearly, the Vikings are capable of striking fast and often. And now that tight end T.J. Hockenson is fully healthy, there is one more dangerous weapon in their passing attack.
When Darnold is not throwing, Aaron Jones has been a very solid presence in the backfield. He can catch the ball as well, but his primary value this season has been to provide Minnesota with a strong counterpart to their passing attack. Jones is averaging 4,5 yards-per-carry and should go over 1,000 yards on the season for the fourth time in his career.
Minnesota has weathered the loss of left tackle Christian Darrisaw, as well as the disappointing play of guard Ed Ingram. The Vikings traded for veteran tackle Cam Robinson once Darrisaw went down with an injury and have simply moved forward with Dalton Risner in place of Ingram. Darrisaw is among the best tackles in the league, and Minnesota’s line is far from invincible. Darnold has been sacked 40 times. If the Hawks hope to slow down Minnesota’s high-powered passing attack, they will need to pressure Darnold throughout the entire game.
On defense, the Vikings game plan is simple. Brian Flores is the most aggressive DC in the NFL. He applies constant pressure to opposing offenses. Running downs, passing downs – it barely matters. The Vikings blitz far more than any other team in the league and though that can lead to surrendering big plays, it has been very successful so far.
The Vikings lead the league in interceptions with 20. They are sixth in sacks with 40. And they have an outstanding 80 tackles-for-loss on the year. Flores will attack relentlessly, and Ryan Grubb needs answers. Fortunately, it appears that the injury which forced Geno Smith from the Packers’ game will not keep him off the field this Sunday. After Sam Howell’s shaky performance last week, putting him on the field against the Vikings defense could spell disaster.
Few of the Vikings defenders are household names, but that is changing. The free agent pickups Greenard and Van Ginkel have been terrors, combining for 19 sacks and 30 TFLs. Pat Jones has seven sacks despite being on the field for fewer than half the defensive snaps. Those young vets have been so good that prized rookie Dallas Turner can barely get on the field. Jalen Redmond came from the UFL play a vital role in the middle of the Vikings line, while Josh Mettellus lines up anywhere and everywhere for Flores. He almost never leaves the field and leads the team in tackles.
The defense is still anchored by its longest-tenured member, safety Harrison Smith. And, lest Hawks fans be confused, Minnesota also has a defender named Byron Murphy. The Hawks lineman outweighs the Vikes’ corner by more than one hundred pounds, but the Minnesota player has played very well, snaring six interceptions this season.
The rookie Reichard has been a steady kicker, connecting on 85% of his field goals with a long of 58 yards. Punter Ryan Wright’s net average of 40 yards ranks in the lower quarter of the league, but Seattle’s return game has not been very effective this season. Perhaps they can turn that around this week. The Vikings returners, Brandon Powell and Ty Chandler, should not cause too much trouble for the Hawks.
The Seahawks challenge
That’s good because Seattle looks to have its hands full with Minnesota’s offense and defense.
Once again, Hawks' coach Mike Macdonald to get his struggling team back on track quickly. He did it at the bye week. But as he approaches the last few games of his rookie season, the desperation grows. This may not be a must-win for the Hawks – that game is likely to come in Week 18 against the resurgent LA Rams.
But Macdonald must figure out a way to get his squad back to playing quality football. That seemed to vanish in the lackluster performance against Green Bay. Win or lose this Sunday, Seattle will almost certainly need to win its final two games to secure a playoff spot.