Can the Vikings Defense Rattle Sam Darnold in Week 13?
The Week 13 matchup between the Seattle Seahawks and the Minnesota Vikings is being built up as the Sam Darnold revenge game. The man who wasn’t wanted (strongly enough at least) by the team he quarterbacked to 14 wins last year.
VikingsTerritory examines the importance of the Vikings’ defense rattling Sam Darnold and how they can try to do so.
Darnold was signed by the Vikings in 2024 to be the veteran foil to their new 10th overall pick from the 2024 draft. After JJ McCarthy got injured in a preseason game, the runway was clear for Darnold to have a full year as QB1 in Minnesota. A seven-year veteran who had never had any sustained success in the league despite his own high draft stock (3rd overall in 2018), nobody expected Darnold to have as much success as he did last year for the Vikings.
Vikings Must Get under Sam Darnold’s Skin
At one point, there was MVP talk, but a couple of rough mid-season games against the Detroit Lions and Los Angeles Rams ended that. The Vikings’ season ended with two more losses to the same two opponents, both in brutal fashion, with Darnold unable to cope with the pressure those teams put on him. Whilst enjoying another good season, leading Seattle to an 8-3 record so far, there have still been signs of Darnold buckling under pressure.
Darnold struggled against the Rams again this season, throwing four interceptions in LA for one of the Seahawks’ losses. In another loss against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Darnold threw an interception under pressure with less than a minute to go, with the scores tied. Tampa Bay had minimal work left to do to set up the game-winning field goal. If the Vikings are going to come back from Seattle with a win, it’s going to need to be on the back of the defense putting Darnold under pressure.
Vikings Defense Needs to End the Turnover Drought
Darnold has thrown 10 interceptions over 11 games for Seattle, and with the possibility that Minnesota will start undrafted rookie Max Brosmer at quarterback, defensive turnovers will be key to making Brosmer’s life easier in his first start. The problem is that the Vikings’ defense has gone from being one of the most proficient teams at taking the ball away in 2024 to one of the worst in 2025.
Brian Flores’ unit has just nine takeaways this season, five of which came in one game (Week 3 vs Bengals), and none at all over the last three games. As much as the Vikings defense has done a good job at keeping the score down and keeping the team in the game, the offense has stuttered. The lack of takeaways is also a major reason Minnesota is struggling to win games.
To Blitz or Not to Blitz
Flores should know Darnold well, but his plan to send the blitz — according to what he told the media this week — could be flawed. Much like last season in Minnesota, Darnold has thrived against the blitz with a Pro Football Focus grade of 88.6 against the blitz in 2025. One criticism I’ve had of Flores during his time with the Vikings is that he hasn’t recognized when his blitz-happy approach isn’t going to work.
With plenty of experience around Flores’ defense, there’s a reasonable chance that Darnold will have a decent handle on when the blitz is coming. It’s what this Vikings defense does, so don’t expect them to abandon it before the game starts; however, creating pressure without blitzing against a solid Seahawks offensive line will be difficult, but possibly game-defining.
The Vikings know firsthand that if you can rattle Darnold, things can unravel fast. That has to be the number one priority for the game plan this week.
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