The Minnesota Vikings are one of three undefeated teams in the NFL after Week 5. But despite their 0-5 record, they haven’t gotten the same love as the San Francisco 49ers (5-0) and Kansas City Chiefs (4-0).
Their rocky start on offense is one reason why pundits aren’t sold on Minnesota’s fast start, but it could cause them to use an ironic blueprint of the Seattle Seahawks.
The Seahawks, of course, are the envy of the eyes of Vikings fans, who watched Sam Darnold leave Minnesota to hoist a Lombardi Trophy last season.
The staff members inside TCO Performance Center may feel the same way, as they plucked Nolan Teasley from the Seahawks to become Kwesi Adofo-Mensah’s replacement as general manager last June.
But for anything they’re doing in the front office, copying Seattle’s recipe for success on the field will be critical and could be one way for the Vikings to validate their fast start.
Vikings could copy Seattle’s blueprint by taking pressure off their quarterback
When it comes to the 2025 Seahawks, Vikings fans are rightfully fixated on Darnold’s performance. Darnold’s season wasn’t as big statistically as it was in Minnesota in 2024, where he completed 66.2 percent of his passes for 4,319 yards, 35 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions.
But the Seahawks lightened his load by providing him with an elite defense and special teams, and a strong running game.
Seattle’s defense was one of the biggest reasons they won the Super Bowl. Nicknamed “The Dark Side,” the Seahawks ranked first in scoring at 17.2 points per game allowed and second in 4.6 yards per play allowed.
Seattle also ranked sixth in turnover rate (12.8 percent) and helped give the offense an average starting position at the 33.1-yard line, tied for the sixth-best in the NFL.
But the defense was only part of the equation. SI’s Bill Huber put out an annual ranking of special teams across the NFL, and the Seahawks ranked third on the strength of their kickoff and punt coverage unit.
Seattle also got a boost after trading for Rashid Shaheed, who had three return touchdowns in 11 games after arriving from the New Orleans Saints, including returning the opening kickoff for a touchdown to begin a 41-6 dismantling of the 49ers in the divisional round.
Even when the Seahawks had the ball, it wasn’t all on Darnold and the passing game. Seattle’s running game wasn’t the most effective, ranking 24th in the NFL at 4.1 yards per carry. But the duo of Kenneth Walker III and Zach Charbonnet were functional enough for the Seahawks to rank third in the NFL with 507 rushing attempts.
This controlled the clock and allowed Darnold to utilize play-action for the fourth-highest passer rating in the league at 124.3, according to PFF. Everything added up for a complete team effort, and it’s what the Vikings will have to do entering the second half of the season.
Vikings are one piece away from following the Seahawks’ Super Bowl blueprint
Looking at Seattle’s playbook, the biggest question is what the Vikings have to copy.
The defense is the most obvious answer, as Minnesota is first in scoring (12.8 ppg) and third in yards per play (4.6) after Week 5, and the only thing that could derail it is injuries to important positions like Dallas Turner at edge rusher or Byron Murphy Jr. at cornerback.
The Vikings’ special teams have also gotten a facelift. Matt Daniels has done a tremendous job improving the punt and kickoff coverage units, and Myles Price already has a punt return for a touchdown in a Week 3 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Price has also shown consistency in his returns, leading the NFL with 744 total return yards, giving Minnesota the league’s fifth-best starting field position at the 33.4-yard line.
The missing piece may be the running game, as it ranks 18th with 3.8 yards per attempt this season, but ranks fourth with 152 rushing attempts.
While Aaron Jones has carried the load over the past four weeks, including tying a career-high with 25 attempts in Sunday’s win over the Saints, Jordan Mason’s return from a thumb fracture could also spark the ground game, as a player who ranks 13th in yards per carry (4.7) and fifth in success rate (55.2 percent) since coming to Minnesota in a trade with the 49ers before last season.
At that point, it’s on Murray. The 29-year-old hasn’t always looked comfortable in Kevin O’Connell’s offense, but he began to show signs of life against the Saints, completing 24-of-30 passes for 229 yards and a touchdown.
While Murray had a 98.3 passer rating on play-action in that win, that number should go up as Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison, and T.J. Hockenson return to health in the coming weeks.
With that, you can see the Vikings’ vision. While the defense has been playing out of its mind, the offense will need to continue the momentum established from Sunday’s win.
Should that happen, the Vikings’ vision of becoming Seattle East could become complete and help Minnesota make sure their 5-0 start doesn’t turn into another disappointment.
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