@tiptims asks, “How nervous are you about the offensive line/offensive struggles after Sunday?” And on a similar note, @segdeha.com on BlueSky asks about the success the Vikings had pressuring Darnold and limiting Jaxon Smith-Njigba, and asks, “Any concern teams will be able to use this as a blueprint against our offense?”
A: The turnovers overall are concerning, and Sam Darnold and company know they need to be better with the ball down the stretch and in the postseason, but overall, I’m a long way away from panicking about Sunday’s game. Yes, the Vikings’ pass rush made life difficult on the Seahawks offense, but not every team has the players or scheme to try to just copy that plan. The Seahawks do need to come up with answers when teams attack them that way, but I’d have also been curious to see what the offense would have looked like after making some halftime adjustments had the Seahawks needed to throw more. With a big lead, the Seahawks were more run heavy, but even so, there were no sacks and the Seahawks got the aggressive
Minnesota front to jump offsides three times, so it appears they made some improvements in the second half.
“Some of the looks and some of the matches and some of the things they do, which is pretty unique to them compared to the rest of the league, those are things we’re going to have to be aware of and have answers for moving forward for sure,” Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald said Monday on Seattle Sports 710AM. “But it’s also like, some of the things they do, it’s hard for a team to just say, ‘Hey, we’re going to just abandon all the things we’ve invested in over the last seven months, and we’re just going to be the Minnesota Vikings.’ That’s what makes them such a good defense—that’s what they do and they’re really good at it. We did some good things against them, you’ve got to give them a lot of credit, but it’s something that, when you don’t see it that often, I think we can have a better plan moving forward.”
As for Smith-Njigba’s quiet day, some of that had to do with the way the Vikings covered him, but the pass rush—and lack of second-half passing attempts—were also a factor. Some of the routes Smith-Njigba has had a lot of success with this season take time to develop, and in the first half in particular, there wasn’t a ton of time for Darnold to wait for him to come open.