Matthew Coller: The studs, duds, right and wrong from Vikings-Seahawks

The Vikings left Seattle with a clutch victory, but it wasn't all sunshine and rainbows.

Dec 22, 2024; Seattle, Washington, USA; Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson (18) celebrates following a victory against the Seattle Seahawks at Lumen Field. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images / Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images

EAGAN — The Minnesota Vikings left Lumen Field in Seattle with a victory after a shining late-game drive from Sam Darnold and clutch defense to close things out. Let’s take a closer look at what right and wrong in the game…

What went right

Darnold and Jefferson’s chemistry

When Sam Darnold targeted Justin Jefferson against the Seahawks, he went 10-for-12 with 144 yards, two touchdowns and a 156.3 QB rating. When he targeted everyone else, Darnold went 12-for-20 with 102 yards and one touchdown.

Jefferson’s best game of the year in terms of yards and receptions was fueled by the QB and WR1 being on the same page on multiple occasions, including the game-winning touchdown.

Since Jefferson was slowed down against Chicago several weeks ago, the star receiver has averaged eight catches for 132 yards per game and has scored five touchdowns. It seems that he and Darnold have taken another step forward in terms of their chemistry

“I would like to think it's time on task and the work that gets put in throughout the week and after practice and the conversation and dialogue as Sam's gotten more comfortable. Whether it's a Saturday morning meeting or a Thursday… the dialogue between those guys that has grown,” O’Connell said. “And I think Justin's just overall football intelligence… over three years of being defended so many different ways…he's seen it all at this point.”

With two games remaining, Jefferson has again displayed mind-blowing consistency. He has 92 receptions for 1,387 yards and 10 touchdowns and has caught 60% of contested catch opportunities (per PFF). Darnold has a 111.1 rating when throwing his way, which is right on par with his career mark.

The short passing game (again)

For several weeks, Darnold has displayed strong patience by throwing underneath effectively rather than always hunting deep shots. When attempting passes under 10 yards, he completed 17-of-23 for 135 yards and two of the incompletions were marked down as drops.

PFF grades Darnold as the NFL’s third best passer on throws between 0-9 yards through the air this season — a sign that he is “playing point guard” at a very high level.

Guard play, Brian O’Neill

It may have felt like Darnold was under pressure often because several of his biggest plays came when he had to move in the pocket but PFF only charted 13 pressured drop-backs vs. 27 clean-pocket attempts. In particular the guards stood out, combining to allow just three of those pressures. Dalton Risner, who has been a revelation in pass protection at guard, scored an 80.0 PFF pass blocking grade with one pressure allowed and Blake Brandel had a middling 56.6 grade but only gave up two pressures.

Brian O’Neill posted another shutout. Zero hurries, zero QB hits, zero sacks. That’s the sixth time he has done that this year.

The replacements on defense

The Vikings used 16 players on defense for at least 16 snaps in Sunday’s victory. Among the role players that mixed in was safety Theo Jackson, who intercepted Geno Smith’s throw on the final drive of the game to seal the victory.

“I think we've seen that all across the board on our team this year,” O’Connell said. “A lot of those guys getting elevated, stepping in, playing and doing some really good things in all three phases. Theo, you remember going back, I felt like every day at the podium and training camp, Theo had made another play and he got his hands on another ball, and he had maybe one of the best off-seasons out of anybody on our team. So to see him go in there and not miss a beat and make a play to put it away, I wasn't surprised.”

Other standout performances by non-starters included:

— Safety Bobby McCain taking Harrison Smith and playing 37 snaps.

— Dallas Turner grabbing an interception. He was targeted four times in coverage and the Seahawks only gained 17 total yards on those throws.

— Outside linebacker Patrick Jones picked up four QB pressures.

— Jihad Ward playing 51 total snaps and registering four pressures.

— Levi Drake Rodriguez playing seven snaps and getting a tackle and tip

Andrew Van Ginkel and the pass rush

The Vikings star outside linebacker had his best game of the season as a pash rusher, picking up 7 QB pressures and two sacks. He has 45 pressures and 11 sacks (career high) on the season. He also dropped back in coverage on 11 snaps and only allowed five yards into his coverage.

Van Ginkel was among a group of key players who bothered Geno Smith. Josh Metellus had four pressures on nine pass rush attempts, Jonathan Greenard added three more and Blake Cashman added two more.

Getting healthier

Stephon Gilmore returned after missing several weeks with a hamstring injury and had ups and downs vs. Seattle’s excellent receivers. He was in coverage for a DK Metcalf touchdown and was penalized for interference. But the veteran corner only allowed two receptions in six targets.

While Harrison Smith missed the game in Seattle, O’Connell said that he expects to play against Green Bay. Linebacker Ivan Pace Jr.’s window to come off injured reserve will be opened as he looks to return this week after a hamstring injury.

The kicking game

Kicker Will Reichard went 3-for-3, including a 52-yarder. He also made all three of his extra points as he continued to look sharp in his comeback from a midseason injury.

Ryan Wright had one of his best days punting of his career. He booted four of six attempts inside the 20-yard line while averaging 50.0 yards per punt.

The subtle Trent Sherfield things

The Vikings have found quite a role player in Sherfield. He graded a 92.9 as a run blocker and was the highest graded special teams player as a gunner, including a key tackle.

What went wrong

Rushing efficiency

O’Connell leaned heavily on Aaron Jones, rushing him 18 times for 67 yards. Cam Akers, who had become a key rotational player in recent weeks, only had one carry for three yards. As a team, the Vikings finished with 3.4 yards per carry. On the season they have dropped to 27th place in terms of yards per carry (4.0). The Vikings will need more than that over the next two weeks against opponents who can dominate time of possession.

Tough outings for Robinson, Bradbury

You can’t say enough about Cam Robinson stepping into Christian Darrisaw’s role and playing quality left guard over the last eight weeks. However, against the Seahawks he had his toughest game of the season. PFF graded Robinson 45.3, by far his lowest mark since joining the Vikings and he gave up five QB pressures.

Center Garrett Bradbury only gave up two pressures but got dinged hard by PFF with just a 26.6 grade. On the other side, Seattle DT Jarran Reed was the highest graded Seattle defensive player.

The Vikings will need good performances from both against a stacked Packers D-line.

Getting home on blitzes vs. Geno Smith

Brian Flores dialed up the heat over and over against the Seahawks veteran quarterback and Smith did a tremendous job of avoiding sacks. He was pressured 13 times on 28 blitzes but the Vikings only took him down once. He completed 69% of passes against the blitz for 7.3 yards per attempt.

When the Vikings did not send extra pressure, Smith went 13-for-17 with 126 yards with four or fewer rushers.