The lasting image from the Minnesota Vikings’ 26-0 loss to the Seattle Seahawks is Justin Jefferson seated alone on the bench, towel over his head, staring blankly onto the field.
Jefferson declined to talk to the media after the game, but the numbers speak for themselves.
- Jefferson had two catches for four yards.
- The Vikings suffered their first shutout loss since the Green Bay Packers beat them 34-0 in 2007.
- Max Brosmer became the first Vikings quarterback to throw four picks in a game since Joshua Dobbs in Week 12 of 2023, the game before he threw a hospital ball to Jefferson in Vegas and Minnesota benched him for the rest of the year.
- Minnesota’s defense did its job, holding the Seahawks to 219 yards, their lowest total in a win since 2017.
- The Vikings have lost six of the past seven games they’ve played in Seattle.
“In no way, shape, or form can we play offensive football like that and try to win at a place like this,” said Kevin O’Connell. “Our defense played as well as they could, considering the amount of lift that they had to do today.
“We just did not have the type of offensive performance that is ever going to be acceptable with the Minnesota Vikings organization. That obviously starts with me.”
The Vikings lost control of the game when Brosmer threw a pick-six on fourth-and-one with five minutes left in the second quarter. Dallas Turner strip-sacked Sam Darnold on Seattle’s second play from scrimmage, and Jalen Redmond recovered on the 13-yard line.
Brosmer’s third-and-six pass to Jordan Addison came up over a yard short, forcing fourth-and-one. Dexter Lawrence broke into the backfield and pursued Brosmer, who scrambled backwards and flung the ball forward to avoid the sack.
Ernest Jones IV caught Brosmer’s desperate pass and returned it 84 yards for a touchdown.
“[O’Connell] put us in the best situation to let our playmakers make plays, and the defense did a good job of getting to me quick,” said Brosmer. “It’s fourth-and-one, either make a play or eat it. They get the 12 yards that I give up on the run back.
“Ultimately, I made a bad decision with the football. It cost us.”
However, O’Connell could have called a run play or kicked a field goal. Will Reichard has been reliable this season. If he converts the field goal, the Vikings tie the game and avoid the shutout. Given how well the defense played, Seattle wouldn’t have run away with the game until they scored their first touchdown with 9:11 left in the fourth.
“We struggled to run it at the point of attack and things like that,” said O’Connell, who thought they’d get a better spot on the ball. “Wanted to try to see if we could get Max out on the perimeter, kind of a run-pass option. They ended up having a looping player in his face right away.
“Fourth down, he’s trying to make a play. Just ends up being obviously catastrophically bad.”
Sunday may be Brosmer’s last start of the season. O’Connell said J.J. McCarthy is still in concussion protocol, but they will test him tomorrow.
“Our goal is [that] he clears [protocol],” said O’Connell, “and he can have a good week of practice and have an opportunity to play next week.”
The Vikings drop to 4-8 after losing in Seattle, so the rest of the season will be about his development. Brosmer will continue to develop behind the scenes. John Wolford or Desmond Ridder won’t save the season.
Still, Minnesota’s plans for McCarthy have gone haywire. They fortified the offensive line in the offseason, but played without Christian Darrisaw and Donovan Jackson on Sunday. Ryan Kelly has suffered two concussions this season and a hip injury in Seattle. Ultimately, McCarthy hasn’t looked ready to play in his first year as a starter.
The issue may run deeper than one game, though. Jefferson isn’t getting the ball, and the Vikings can’t win without him. Neither McCarthy nor Brosmer look ready to operate the offense. No wonder Jefferson looks so distressed on the sideline – nobody can get him the ball.
O’Connell has said that organizations fail young quarterbacks before they fail organizations, but everything looks out of sorts right now. They’ve paved their path to quarterback hell with good intentions.
