Seahawks Notebook: O-line assessment, no new injuries
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - NOVEMBER 30: Jaxon Smith-Njigba #11 and Sam Darnold #14 of the Seattle Seahawks jog onto the field in the first quarter of a game against the Minnesota Vikings at Lumen Field on November 30, 2025 in Seattle, Washington. (Steph Chambers / Getty Images)
RENTON, Wash. - Head coach Mike Macdonald gave plenty of credit to defensive coordinator Brian Flores and the Minnesota Vikings for causing a bunch of problems for the Seattle Seahawks offense on Sunday.
The Vikings sacked Sam Darnold four times and held the Seahawks to just 84 yards of total offense in the first half. Darnold hadn't been sacked more than three times in any game this season before going down four times in the first half against Minnesota.
"A tribute to them, good design on the front end. Could have had some better execution in those moments," Macdonald said.
Flores frequently confused Seattle's offensive front with all-out blitz looks that kept the line off-balance on guessing who was rushing on any given play. Sometimes, the Vikings would bring a full blitz with more rushers than the Seahawks had blockers. In other spots, defenders would peel off in coverage after showing initial pressure, with Seattle linemen occasionally left to block no one at all as a rusher came free elsewhere.
For instance, 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.
"A combination of good design and we’ve just got to play a little bit better on our end," Macdonald said. "It starts with the offensive line, making the right call, and then the quarterback, being decisive on what to do with the ball, and we'll move on from there.
"They can get to a lot of different things and it’s a tribute to them and how they're built. But you can't do everything every game. We did a good job of understanding some of the matches that they were doing and some of the fronts that they were building out of those personnel groups, so we could get to some better answers. That's a tribute to our guys for being on top of it. That's really a function of just understanding what they were doing and what our counterpunch would have been. That's what happened."
Seattle was better in the second half as Darnold wasn't sacked once. However, he only threw 11 passes in the second half as the Seahawks controlled the game and Minnesota's offense was incapable of pushing back effectively.
"The way the game declared, we didn't need him to drop back and chuck it around the yard 40 times," Macdonald said. "We knew we needed to stick with our plan to ground it out there in the second half and we executed that. I thought we played way better in the second half to help us win the game."
Darnold entered Sunday's game as the least-sacked quarterback in the NFL, having been sacked just 11 times all season. Bo Nix (12 starts) and Michael Penix Jr. (9 starts) now lead the league with just 13 sacks on the season, with Darnold's 15 sacks the third-fewest in the league.
No new injuries of note from the win.
The Seahawks came out of Sunday's win without suffering any new injuries of significance.
Right guard Anthony Bradford left the game in the fourth quarter with an elbow injury, and cornerback Josh Jobe was checked for a concussion before being cleared.
Head coach Mike Macdonald said Monday that Bradford is expected to practice on Wednesday when the team returns to the field.
Quarterback Sam Darnold briefly popped into the injury tent on Sunday due to an ankle injury, but had no issues finishing the game. Linebacker Ernest Jones IV was also briefly attended to on the field before jogging off without issue.
Nose tackle Jarran Reed is eligible to return to action this week after spending the last four games on injured reserve after wrist surgery.
Macdonald was non-committal to Reed being activated, but it seems that decision isn't far away.
"He’s doing good," Macdonald said. "We'll see how he does throughout the rest of the week but looks good."
Wide receiver Dareke Young is also eligible to return this week after being sidelined with a hip injury. Reed and Young join safety Julian Love and tight end Eric Saubert as players eligible to begin their return to practice this week from injured reserve.
"It’s a possibility with all those guys, but we’ll see," Macdonald said.
The Source: Information in this story came from FOX 13 Seattle reporting.
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