SEATTLE – A standout defensive performance against a woefully ill-equipped rookie quarterback carried the Seattle Seahawks to their first shutout in more than a decade, beating the Minnesota Vikings 26-0 on Sunday.

The Seahawks forced five Minnesota turnovers, with four coming on interceptions of quarterback Max Brosmer in his first career NFL start. An 85-yard interception return for a touchdown by Ernest Jones IV in the second quarter gave Seattle a 10-0 lead, which already felt insurmountable for a moribund Vikings offense.

Seattle’s offense sputtered through most of the first half as well against a challenging Minnesota defense. But eventually, the Seahawks were able to do enough to truly put the Vikings away.

With a Los Angeles Rams loss to the Carolina Panthers on Sunday, the Seahawks are now tied again for the division lead in the NFC West at 9-3. However, the Rams currently hold the tiebreaker with Seattle, and the San Francisco 49ers are just a half game behind in the standings.

Here are the takeaways from the win over the Vikings:

The defense was great, as it should have been.

With Max Brosmer at quarterback, the offense the Vikings rolled out on Sunday afternoon was just not a professional-caliber operation. And the Seahawks did precisely what you would expect to an offense as challenged as Minnesota was on Sunday.

Seattle forced a season-high five turnovers, including an 85-yard pick-six from linebacker Ernest Jones IV on one of the worst plays any offense will make all season. It’s the first five-turnover game by Seattle since a 17-9 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles in 2019.

Additionally, the Seahawks pitched their first shutout in over a decade when Seattle blanked the Chicago Bears by the same 26-0 score in Week 3 of the 2015 season.

“I know the defense played really well. Proud of them. Takeaways on defense make a huge impact on the game. Really was a team win,” head coach Mike Macdonald said.

Given the ineptitude of the Minnesota offense, Sunday’s performance was a bit tricky to truly analyze. The Seahawks felt like they were bullying a younger sibling with the way they played against Brosmer.

Seattle sacked Brosmer four times, and came up with four interceptions on 30 pass attempts. The Vikings gained just 162 yards of total offense, which is the lowest output by a Seahawks opponent since… the Vikings gained just 125 yards in a 38-7 loss to Seattle in 2015.

It’s just the 20th shutout in franchise history, and the 16th-fewest yards allowed in a game in team history.

“The best in the world,” receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba said. “Happy to have those guys. Front line to linebackers to the DBs, they played a great game. They led us, and we’re super happy to have the best defense in the world. It’s awesome.”

Jones had two interceptions of Brosmer, with the 85-yard touchdown serving as a decisive blow for Seattle.

“That was my first ever defensive touchdown. It’s been a while since I’ve seen the end zone, so it was great,” Jones said.

After Sam Darnold fumbled on a sack from Dallas Turner, the Vikings were in prime scoring position and elected to go for a fourth-and-1 at Seattle’s 4-yard line. But DeMarcus Lawrence applied immediate pressure on a play-action bootleg by Brosmer. Instead of just taking the sack since Seattle was going to get the ball anyway, Brosmer chucked the ball like a grenade trying to make something happen.

Something did indeed happen, it just didn’t help the Vikings.

The heave went straight to Jones for a touchdown that effectively ended the game late in the first half with Minnesota’s offense so limited.

“It’s unbelievable to have a defense like this, you know, just consistently,” Darnold said. “For us, as an offense especially, for me personally, I hate putting them in positions to where I’m getting a sack-fumble and the defense is recovering it and all of a sudden they’re in the red zone and our defense is able to turn that somehow into six points. To be able to play with and for a defense like that is unbelievable. Don’t take it for granted one day.”

Jones had one more interception as Josh Jobe deflected a pass for Justin Jefferson straight back to Jones for his fifth interception of the season, which is just one behind Kevin Byard of the Chicago Bears for most in the NFL this season.

Coby Bryant and Riq Woolen also picked off Brosmer, though Woolen fumbled the ball back to Minnesota on his return.

“We were up 26-0 so I tried to turn into (a) Madden user,” Woolen said. “I felt good. I was going through the [offensive] line and I felt like Derrick Henry.”

Added Macdonald: “I’m yelling ball security. Ball is out here. Come on, man,” Macdonald said with a smile. “Such a great play. It was a phenomenal play until he caught it. Then it wasn’t a great play. So we’ll learn from it.”

The Seahawks have a terrific defense and they did exactly what you’d expect to an offense as bad as the Vikings brought to Seattle on Sunday.

The offensive line struggled to handle Brian Flores’ pressures.

Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores is one of the best in the league at causing problems for offensive protection schemes. And boy did Seattle struggle to handle Minnesota’s attack, especially in the first half.

Particularly in obvious passing situations, Flores would have the Vikings line up in an all-out blitz look. Sometimes that blitz would come full throttle. In others, defenders would peel away in coverage and leave blockers without someone to hit as another rusher came free at Sam Darnold.

Darnold was sacked four times in the first half by Minnesota after never being sacked more than three times in any single game all season. Entering Sunday, Darnold had only been sacked 11 times all season, which was the lowest for a regular starter in the league this season.

“We need to start faster, especially in terms of protection and making sure we’re on the same page,” Macdonald said. “On paper it’s nice to say we have it protected, but when they’re doing it full speed we got to be ahead of plays faster on offense.”

On multiple occasions, right guard Anthony Bradford was looking to block a defender that ultimately peeled off and didn’t rush. It left him standing in space looking completely clueless, whether deserved or not. The result was a rusher coming in clean next to him on plays that resulted in a Darnold throwaway and an Eric Wilson sack.

However, some of the errors weren’t caused by the opponent. For instance, on a run from the Minnesota 8-yard line in the first half, Bradford failed to block anybody as Zach Charbonnet was dropped for a 2-yard loss. Bradford was responsible for kicking out the crashing linebacker in Wilson to create inside room for Charbonnet. Instead, Wilson was unblocked and hammered Charbonnet for the loss.

If the block was made, Charbonnet looked like he would get 1-on-1 with safety Harrison Smith after a gain of at least a couple yards.

“Coach Flores does a great job mixing up looks, and we’re taking what they give us, and Sam made the best decisions for the team and Zach (Charbonnet) and K9 (Kenneth Walker III) doing their thing. It was one of those days,” said Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who was held to a season-low two catches for 23 yards.

The line was far more competent in the second half as they managed to clean up many of the issues they had before halftime. Darnold wasn’t sacked once in the second half

“I think everybody deserves credit,” Macdonald said. “We didn’t go all haywire. Just go back to the drawing board, get to good protection that you like, get to better plays, stay out of certain situations, get a better feel for how they’re matching us, all the things going on there. Then I think players calming down and executing at a higher level. Look, you got to give Minnesota a lot of credit, too. They had a good plan. They called an aggressive game and they did a good job.”

Charbonnet and Walker combined to rush for 108 yards on 27 carries, and Darnold finished with 128 yards on 14 completions despite the sacks and having several passes batted down at the line of scrimmage.

“The blocked passes are tough,” Macdonald said. “You don’t want to put the ball in jeopardy, but also trying to get rid of it on time. So we’ll look at that. Thought he made some smart decisions, fast decisions. Got away from the rush well. I know it sounds weird, but he took some good sacks actually in some of those critical moments, which is good team football. Did a great job. There is a lot of things he’s doing outside of the pass game in that second half that really helped us win the game as well, so operating at a high level.”

DeMarcus Lawrence continues to shine.

The free agent signing of DeMarcus Lawrence has more than paid off for the Seahawks this season.

Lawrence picked up his fifth sack of the season, forced a fumble from running back Aaron Jones Sr., and had a quarterback hit on Max Brosmer that led to Ernest Jones’ interception return touchdown.

While his statistics don’t blow you away on the surface, his impact on Seattle’s defense this season can’t be understated. He’s been a major addition to the group this year.

“DeMarcus Lawrence’s caused fumble is probably my new favorite play of all-time,” Macdonald said. “Just an incredible, incredible play. I just saw a blur coming down and just violently attack the ball. It’s been such a point of emphasis, and to see him do that was really great.”

Lawrence chased down Jones from behind and hammered him with a chop that knocked the ball free for Ty Okada to recover for the lone non-interception turnover of the day forced by Seattle’s defense. 

“I knew the ball was coming out quick,” Lawrence said.

The play on Jones’ interception was equally impressive. Lawrence didn’t bite on any of the theatrics of the play, choosing to run straight at Brosmer on his rollout instead. Lawrence grabbed onto Brosmer and began to pull him toward the ground for a would-be sack when he chucked the ball directly to Jones.

“That’s one of these things that DeMarcus does probably better than anybody I’ve been around, is he plays with anticipation and understands situational football at an incredibly high level,” Macdonald said. “Fourth-and-one in a run-or-pass type of situation and reads it, it’s a movement (play), and that’s not part of his technique. That’s just him being a great football player and understanding situational ball. Just an awesome play.”

Lawrence’s three-year deal looks incredibly valuable already to the Seahawks, especially this season when he counts less than $8 million against the salary cap.

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One: Pounce on a division rival – It’s no secret the Edmonton Oilers aren’t exactly where they want to be at this point. They’ve dropped four of their last five games and have given up a ton of goals in doing so. This home-and-away series for the Kraken five days apart is the chance to gain some Pacific Division separation.

Doing so will require taking at least three of a possible four points in the two games, and that starts at Climate Pledge Arena, where they’ve beaten the Oilers in their last two head-to-head meetings, including just five weeks ago. The Kraken are three points ahead of their 10-10-5 division counterparts with two games in hand, so you can see how valuable gaining some additional ground might be.

Nobody really factored the Kraken in for a playoff spot this season, and to gain one, they’ll need to slip into a power vacuum somewhere. No better one than this. Do not be fooled: The Oilers have pulled early-season stumbles the past few years ahead of roaring back into their usual playoff positioning come January and February.

Three years ago, the playoff-bound Kraken headed into Edmonton for a mid-January contest with a five-point lead on the Oilers and a chance to stretch it to seven. Alas, they lost and the Oilers soon roared on by them in the standings and topped it all off by winning 18 of 21 down the stretch to finish nine points ahead of a pretty good 100-point Kraken team.

Last season, starting on New Year’s Eve, the Oilers went on a run that saw them win eight of nine and 12 of 15. Two seasons ago, they were 5-12-1 just before Thanksgiving, then won eight in a row and came late December, embarked on an epic 16-game win streak that helped propel them to the playoffs and the Stanley Cup Final.

That isn’t to say the Oilers will automatically rebound this season. But recent history tells us it’s probably best not to tempt fate with the defending two-time Western Conference champs and to pounce on them now while you still have a chance. Otherwise, odds are pretty good they’ll find another gear in weeks ahead.

Two: Score some goals – This game essential risks getting repetitive but to pounce on the Oilers, the Kraken will need to do something other teams have frequently managed and that’s putting pucks past their goalies. While the Kraken took more shots on goal in a 3-2 loss to Dallas the other night, they didn’t score enough. One goal every 14 shots still won’t cut it in a league where an average team needs just nine or 10 to strike paydirt.

It doesn’t help that the Kraken on Friday announced that Jaden Schwartz, tied for the team lead with eight goals, is now out an estimated six weeks with a lower-body injury.

“That’s a big one,” Kraken head coach Lane Lambert said after Friday’s practice.

The good news is that winger Kaapo Kakko practiced Friday without a red no-contact jersey and could be back for Saturday’s game. Kakko was practicing on a line with Berkly Catton and Freddy Gaudreau, which could make for an interesting third trio if it holds.

“I think he’s progressing nicely, he’s getting closer – which is nice to see,” Lambert said, not tipping his hand as to whether Kakko will play against Edmonton.

Jared McCann also got to shake some rust off – as well as a tooth – his first game back against Dallas and now the team needs him to keep providing an offensive boost.

“We have to have other guys step up,” Lambert said. “Not only on the ice but off the ice.”

The Kraken somehow went 2-1-1 on their recent road trip despite averaging just two goals per game. They’ve also now gone five straight games without scoring more than twice in regulation and that’s somewhat different from the opening six weeks or so when they were scoring at least three goals on a more frequent basis.

Three goals in regulation will get this defensive-minded team a win almost every time as the Kraken are 8-0-3 in such situations. Two goals is a dice roll usually involving some overtime luck to generate points, as they are 2-6-3 when failing to score at least three in regulation.

So, that one added goal makes all the difference. The Kraken certainly took more shots against Dallas. Now, it’s a matter of converting those chances. The team has talked about getting the puck out of their own end more quickly to increase their offensive zone time and did do that against the Stars on Wednesday night. But whichever way you slice it, once the Kraken do gain possession somebody needs to put the puck in the net more often.

Three: Know the foe – If these weren’t the two-time defending Cup finalists, you could almost say the Oilers are the perfect tonic for what ails the Kraken offense. They’ve given up 25 goals in their last five games, including 22 of them in four losses that span.

Dallas hung an eight-spot on Edmonton earlier in the week and that came just 17 days after Colorado scored nine times on them. Not surprisingly, the Oilers are second-worst in the league in goals given up per game at 3.72 and worst in save percentage at .868.

Stuart Skinner usually bears the brunt of netminding criticism for the Oilers, and this season is no exception as he’s played twice as many games as backup Calvin Pickard in posting a record of 8-7-3 with a goals against average of 3.18 and a save percentage of .878. But numbers-wise, Pickard has been even worse with a 2-3-2 mark, a 4.04 goals against average and .847 save percentage.

Still, the usual Oilers caveats apply. You don’t give their best offensive players a chance to bury you, starting with Connor McDavid and his team-leading 34 points, Leon Draisaitl and his club-best 14 goals and Evan Bouchard – whose 21 points as a defenseman is seven better than any active Kraken player now that Schwartz is out.

Journeyman Jack Roslovic, 28, is having himself a season as well, tied with McDavid for second most goals on the team at 10 after coming over as a last-minute depth addition out of training camp on a one-year, $1.5 million deal after previously going unsigned all summer as a free agent forward.

Still, the Oilers don’t feel as deep offensively as in the past, and that shows in their 3.08 goals per game scored – only 17th of 32 teams. It gets even more concerning once you move past their third-ranked power play unit and discover they’ve averaged only 2.4 goals per game in even-strength play. For context, that’s not all that much better than the Kraken’s 2.04 goals per contest at 5-on-5. We’ve discussed Kraken offensive shortcomings ad nauseam, but these are the Oilers we’re talking about! They used to be lethal in any offensive situation. Not so thus far.

A big reason has been the Oilers’ limiting shots to the perimeter and not getting in tight for “greasy goals” from high-danger chances. That plays right into the Kraken’s defensive strategy and should bode well for the home team if it continues.

Projected lines (not official):

Marchment-Beniers-Eberle
McCann-Stephenson-Tolvanen
Kakko-Gaudreau-Catton
Kartye-Wright-Winterton

Dunn-Larsson
Lindgren-Montour
Evans-Oleksiak

Daccord