Darnold Haunts His Old Team as Seahawks Blank Vikings in Brutal Beatdown
December 1, 2025
Sam Darnold finally gets to play the team that let him go. The Vikings selected JJ McCarthy in the 2023 NFL Draft with the intent to have him take over for Darnold during the early to middle part of the season. A knee injury would sideline McCarthy for the year and Darnold would take Minnesota on one of their best runs they’ve ever seen. What everyone remembers the most is how it all ended, 0-2 during the most important two weeks of the year. The Lions had Darnold seeing ghosts again in a blowout loss in week 18 with the division on the line. A result of the loss sent the Vikings to Los Angeles where the Rams essentially repeated what the Lions did a week before. Darnold was let go, found a new home with the Seahawks, and Seattle is thankful for it.
The bigger issue many take is that the Vikings had both Darnold and Daniel Jones in the building last year and let them both walk. No one could predict that McCarthy would be dealing with so many injuries but the play we have seen has left a lot to be desired. He’s thrown some bad interceptions, tripped over his own feet for sacks, it’s legendary levels of bad. His butt fumble moment would have already occurred if he were capable of playing long enough. With JJ out, Max Brosmer was in…and yikes.
Both defenses were hot. You’d think Minnesota would know how to defend Darnold and they did. Brian Flores was dialing up the blitzes and going after Darnold all afternoon. Both quarterbacks had a dreadful depth of target, but Darnold was worse with 3.7. The Viking defense generated 15 pressures on his 26 dropbacks resulting in 6 hurries and 4 sacks. He was uncomfortable, seeing different coverages while taking on blitzes, and struggled to find his favorite target JSN. JSN had topped 100 yards receiving in 6 of his last 7 contests but struggled to establish a rhythm with his quarterback today. He’d only catch 2 passes for 23 yards which was his lowest total dating back to last season.
Seattle was fortunate to be playing against a Vikings team forced to start an undrafted rookie quarterback in Max Brosmer. The Seahawks’ struggles were matched, and even outdone at times, by the Vikings. Brosmer couldn’t get the ball moving and was responsible for 4 of their 5 turnovers by way of BAD interceptions. It’s the kid’s first career start, of course the windows would close quicker than he was used to and they just so happened to be playing one of the best defensive units in the NFL. Sunday marked the first time the Vikings have been shutout since 2007. Let that one sink in. Brett Favre was the one that shut them out in his last game against the Vikings, now that honor belongs to their old qb Sam Darnold.
The Seahawks defense scored on an 84-yard pick six, kicker Jason Myers had 12 points on 4 field goals, and a fourth quarter touchdown run by Zach Charbonnet would put a bow on it all. Divisional rival Los Angeles took a bad loss to Carolina which helps in creating some breathing room during the final few weeks, but the the Seahawks/Rams will face off once more time on December 18th with potentially the division on the line.
Minnesota has a lot of self reflecting to do as 2025 is ultimately going to amount to a lost year. One that had so much optimism, especially after their week 1 comeback victory over Chicago. The defense is for real, the wide receivers are for real and they have a stable of running backs ready to roll. Seemingly, the only thing holding them back is the quarterback situation, but it’s something that they’ll need to figure out immediately as it can’t result in another lost season in 2026.
Keith, Author
Keith runs youth flag football leagues by day, and by night he hosts the podcast and writes articles with the confidence of a man who’s been rushing quarterbacks since dial-up. A longtime flag football DE and lifelong Falcons fan, he’s no stranger to heartbreak and enjoys watching the bears get slaughtered each week. Equal parts coach, critic, and chaos, Keith calls it like he sees it… even if it hurts.
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