Inside The Vikings

5 things that stood out from Vikings' win over the Seahawks

Minnesota won its eighth straight and came out victorious in Seattle for the first time since 2006.

Nolan O'Hara

Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson catches a touchdown pass against the Seattle Seahawks during the fourth quarter at Lumen Field in Seattle on Dec. 22, 2024.
Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson catches a touchdown pass against the Seattle Seahawks during the fourth quarter at Lumen Field in Seattle on Dec. 22, 2024. / Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images
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Make that eight straight wins for the Minnesota Vikings.

With Sunday's 27-24 victory over the Seattle Seahawks at Lumen Field in Seattle — their first win in Seattle since 2006 — the Vikings improved to 13-2 and remain firmly in the mix for the NFC's top seed. The game had a little bit of everything, and the Vikings continue to deliver week after week. Here are five things at stood out from their latest victory:

Darnold delivers

The Seahawks had just marched down the field and took their first lead of the game at 24-20. There were 4 minutes, 21 seconds left on the clock, but Sam Darnold and Justin Jefferson only needed 30 seconds. With a fresh set of downs after Seahawks defensive lineman Byron Murphy II was called for a facemask on a sack of Darnold, the quarterback stepped up and let one rip off-balance, hitting Jefferson back shoulder for a 39-yard touchdown and a 27-24 lead with 3:51 to go.

Darnold hit Jefferson for a 12-yard gain earlier in the drive, too, and his 9-yard scramble was good for a first down on second-and-3. His heroics on the late drive covered up a lackluster offensive effort for most of the second half. The Vikings got a field goal on their first drive of the half, but punted twice and didn't gain more than 40 yards on any of their drives before Darnold delivered with the big-time touchdown and game-winner to Jefferson, who once again shined.

Overall, Darnold completed 22-of-35 passes for 246 yards and three touchdowns in the game. Jefferson caught 10 of those passes for 144 yards and two touchdowns. He's caught five TDs over the past three weeks.

First pick at the perfect time

The Seahawks had one last shot at sneaking out a win or forcing overtime with 55 ticks left on the clock. It didn't start well with a false-start penalty, and on the next play it was game over. Theo Jackson, playing for the injured Harrison Smith, jumped in front of DK Metcalf and picked off Geno Smith for his first interception of the year. Two Darnold kneel downs later, the Vikings walked out with a win.

The Vikings continue to flex their muscles when it comes to forcing turnovers. They picked off Smith twice in the game.

Smith tests Vikings defense

Despite the two interceptions, Smith was actually a problem for the Vikings defense for much of the game. Take the fourth quarter, for example, when Smith delivered a perfect pass, AJ Barner made a great grab in the back of the end zone and got both feet inbounds. The 4-yard touchdown gave the Seahawks their first lead of the game, 24-20, with 4:21 to play.

Smith was a perfect 5 for 5 on that drive, and it wasn't his first nearly flawless scoring jaunt. With just 1 minute, 25 seconds left on the clock in the first half, Smith went 4 for 5, completing passes of 20 and 12 yards to Metcalf before finding Jaxon Smith-Njigba for a 25-yard gain. Smith capped the drive delivering an 18-yard dart to Smith-Njigba that cut the Seahawks' deficit to 17-14 at the halftime break. He even had time to spare, leaving 20 seconds on the clock.

Smith also put the Seahawks in position to tie it late. With just under four minutes left on the clock, he got Seattle just in Jason Myers' range for a game-tying field goal, but the 60-yard attempt came up just short after the two-minute warning.

Smith completed 31-of-43 passes overall for 314 yards, three touchdowns and the two picks.

Turner turning the corner

There were high expectations for first-round draft pick Dallas Turner in his rookie season, but he wasn't seeing significant action for the majority of the season. Now it appears Turner is finding something. A week after recording three tackles and a sack — his second of the year — in a win over the Chicago Bears, Turner got the first interception of his young career.

After Jefferson hauled in a 14-yard touchdown pass for a 14-7 Vikings lead late in the second quarter, Turner picked off Smith on the first play of the ensuing Seattle drive to set the Vikings up in good field position. While Minnesota didn't fully capitalize off the turnover with a touchdown, Will Reichard made a 52-yard field goal for a 17-7 lead late in the half.

In addition to the interception, Turner had three tackles and a pass defended.

Vikings control their destiny

Shortly before the Vikings snuck out of Seattle with a win over the Seahawks, the Washington Commanders handed the Philadelphia Eagles just their third loss of the season. That means all the Vikings need to do to claim the No. 1 seed in the NFC is beat the Green Bay Packers next week and close their season with a win over the Detroit Lions.

It's right there for the Vikings, they just need to claim it.

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Nolan O'Hara
NOLAN O'HARA

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