Studs and Duds from Minnesota Vikings' Week 13 Loss to the Seahawks

The Minnesota Vikings didn’t just lose on Sunday; they got embarrassed. A 26-0 shutout at the hands of the Seattle Seahawks marks the franchise’s first scoreless outing since 2007 against the Packers. It also extends the team’s scoreless streak to six straight quarters and pushes the turnover tally to eight giveaways in that span.

This is the Vikings’ first four-game losing streak since Weeks 15–18 of the 2023 season, and unlike some losses where, if you squint hard enough, you can find some silver linings, this one is tough to come away with any real positives. The problems were loud, obvious, and have been persistent throughout the season with no signs of being addressed anytime soon.

The Vikings didn’t just lose, they completely collapsed — and have been for weeks. Dallas Turner and Eric Wilson played like pros, trying to keep things respectable, but the offense and coaching staff never gave them a chance. A shutout, a turnover avalanche, and a four-game losing streak paint a pretty clear picture of where things stand with this team.

Here are the Studs and Duds following an embarrassing Week 13 loss.

Dud: Max Brosmer

What in the world was that Pick-6?

Brosmer shouldn’t have been put in that position in the first place — Minnesota should have taken the points and kicked the field goal. But they didn’t (more on that in a minute), and Brosmer has to have more awareness than to throw that ball. A sack on fourth down for a turnover on downs is bad; an interception that goes back for a touchdown is disastrous. Sometimes you just have to take the L.

Then came three more interceptions in the second half, plus four sacks, many of which were tied to holding the ball too long or drifting into pressure. Brosmer looked like a rookie who’d lost the plot early and never found it again. J.J. McCarthy has been historically bad to this point in his career, and somehow, Brosmer had a “hold my beer” moment on Sunday and looked even worse.

Stud: Dallas Turner

Dallas Turner is quickly becoming the player the Vikings thought he would be when they took him in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft. And he’s doing so on a defense that’s being asked to do far too much. The rookie racked up two first-half sacks and added a forced fumble, giving him at least one sack in three straight games and the first multi-sack performance of his career.

Even as everything else unraveled around him, Turner played with urgency and heart. He’s stacking solid performances, something this team desperately needs more players to start doing.

Dud: The Rushing Game

Calling it a “rushing attack” feels generous at best. Through three quarters, Vikings running backs combined for 11 yards on 9 carries. Nothing between the tackles, nothing to the edge, no semblance of balance. The fourth quarter found a little success, with the unit ending the game with 65 yards on 15 carries, but by then the game was already out of hand.

When your offense is drowning, you need something steady to lean on. The run game didn’t offer a single life raft. Some of that is on the running backs. Some of that is on the offensive line failing to open holes. A lot of it is on a coaching staff that continuously refuses to commit to the running game enough for it to find consistency.

Stud: Eric Wilson

Eric Wilson played like a man trying to drag the team back into the game by himself. He posted three tackles for loss and a sack in the first half, then added another TFL in the second. By the end of the afternoon, he had 11 total tackles, constantly flying around the field and cleaning up plays despite the offense’s turnovers, handing it right back to Seattle and nullifying his efforts.

It wasn’t pretty, but Wilson was everywhere. He deserved better than this result.

Dud: Kevin O’Connell

For all the talk there has been about Kevin O’Connell being a “Quarterback Whisperer,” and the success he had with the likes of Sam Darnold and Nick Mullens, the game plan on Sunday almost seemed aimed at not making McCarthy look worse than he already has.

It seemed almost intentional how O’Connell refused to set Brosmer up for success. The lack of early rhythm throws or confidence builders was head-scratching. The decision to go for it instead of taking the field goal — the one Brosmer turned into that brutal Pick-6 — was baffling.

The coaching has been questionable all season, but Sunday felt like a low point. At this point, O’Connell is not managing adversity; he’s mismanaging the entire situation.

This article originally appeared on Vikings Wire: Studs and Duds from the Vikings’ 26-0 Loss to the Seahawks