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# Report Card: Top Performers in Seahawks’ 26-0 Win vs. Vikings
- URL: https://www.emeraldcityspectrum.com/report-card-top-performers-seattle-seahawks-minnesota-vikings-week-13/
- Published: 2025-12-03T17:29:08.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-08T05:57:08.000Z
- Author: Corbin Smith
- Tags: Analysis, Seahawks, Ernest Jones, Demarcus Lawrence, Drake Thomas, Zach Charbonnet, Leonard Williams

Gaining ground in both the conference standings and NFC West race, the Seattle Seahawks took care of business against an inferior opponent behind a stifling defensive effort in a 26-0 beatdown of the Minnesota Vikings, pulling within one win of their 2024 total with five weeks left to play.

Staying squarely in the hunt for the top seed and a divisional title, which players shined brightest in Seattle’s latest victory in front of a sellout crowd at Lumen Field? After reviewing the All-22 film, here are my top five performers from Week 13:

### Demarcus Lawrence

**Overall Grade**: 91.0 (Run Defense 86, Tackling 92, Pass Rush 96)

Due to the game getting out of hand in the second half, Lawrence only logged 20 defensive snaps on Sunday, but he couldn’t have done much more with his limited playing time before giving way to reserves in the second half. Moments after a Sam Darnold fumble gifted the Vikings with the ball at the Seahawks 13-yard line, the savvy veteran immediately read play action on a decisive 4th and 1 and used a swim move to rocket upfield as he chased down rookie quarterback Max Brosmer, eventually grabbing onto the passer’s left arm as he looked poised to finish off a drive-ending sack. But that end result of his instant pressure ended up being far sweeter, as the undrafted signal caller made a major mistake trying to throw the ball away, only for Ernest Jones to pick off the pass and return it 85 yards for a touchdown.

Far from done wrecking Minnesota’s plans, Lawrence quickly brought the ensuing possession to an end on a three-and-out by shedding his blocker and climbing back up into the pocket to sack Brosmer on third down, helping set up the offense for a field goal drive before halftime to extend their advantage to 13\. In the third quarter, he once again factored into a turnover for Seattle, getting up after initially being knocked to the turf on a chip block by Aaron Jones and chasing the back down from behind in pursuit, getting payback by punching the ball out of the running back’s hand for a fumble that would be recovered by safety Ty Okada. In his past two home games, Lawrence has scored two touchdowns, helped a teammate in Jones score another, and directly led to 27 points with his efforts.

### Ernest Jones

**Overall Grade: 90.5** (Run Defense 88, Tackling 92, Coverage 92)

Returning from missing a second game in three weeks due to a sore knee, Jones showed no signs of lingering discomfort in arguably the best game of his NFL career to this point. Only a few snaps before scoring his first touchdown in the league, the veteran linebacker flashed his underrated strength at the point of attack, managing to stuff Jones for a one-yard gain on a one-handed tackle with the opposing blocker trying to latch onto his left hand as he closed in on the ball carrier. That short gain helped set up the 4th and 1 play action disaster for Brosmer, who made sure Christmas came a month early and might as well have put a ribbon on the football as he tossed it right into the linebacker’s hands for a gimme pick six.

Not satisfied with only having one interception on the afternoon, Jones got the better of Brosmer again in the third quarter, once again benefiting from being in the right place at the right time coming out of his zone drop responsibility. The rookie quarterback tried to squeeze the ball into a tight window to star receiver Justin Jefferson, but cornerback Josh Jobe got his hands on the ball and deflected the pass into the air, allowing the linebacker to run under it for his team-high fifth pick. He later added three more run stops netting two or fewer yards, ending the day with a team-high 12 combined tackles to go with two interceptions before subbing out late with an undisclosed injury that fortunately doesn’t appear to be anything serious.

### Drake Thomas

**Overall Grade**: 88.0 (Run Defense 88, Tackling 90, Pass Rush 90, Coverage 84)

While Jones will get the deserved style points coming out of Sunday’s win with two picks, including a long return for a touchdown, Thomas put together a dominant performance in his own right against the Vikings, finding plenty of ways to disrupt the opposing offense. After only recording two tackles in the first half, the third-year linebacker started to make his presence felt living in the backfield as a run defender and pass rusher, starting with a well-timed blitz through the B-gap to jolt Jones behind the line of scrimmage for a four-yard loss. Executing the perfect rush against the ideal play call, he rocketed through the gap as if he was shot out of cannon, bulleting behind the fullback’s split zone block to nail the running back right after he received the handoff.

Even with diminished snaps in the second half as the Seahawks transitioned into extensive dime looks with only one linebacker on the field at a time, Thomas continued to come through with splash plays. Generating three pressures on four blitzes against the pass for a 75% pressure rate, he overpowered running back Zavier Scott on one of those rush attempts late in the fourth quarter as he took a beeline for the quarterback in the pocket, shrugging off the attempted blitz pickup with ease before barreling down on Brosmer for a partial sack tag-teaming with Uchenna Nwosu. For the afternoon, he wrapped up with five tackles, a tackle for loss, half a sack, and two quarterback hits, once again impressing as an exciting running mate alongside Jones.

### Leonard Williams

**Overall Grade**: 86.0 (Run Defense 84, Tackling 88, Pass Rush 90)

Eager for the chance to hunt an undrafted rookie quarterback making his first career NFL start, Williams got off to a scorching hot start on Sunday, setting the tone for an utterly dominant outing from Mike Macdonald’s defense. Helping quickly close the door on Minnesota’s first offensive possession, he split the A gap on a hard slant inside to chase down Jones from the backside for a one-yard gain to set the Vikings behind the chains. Two plays later, he cooked right guard Will Fries with a hesitation step off the snap followed by a slick swipe to rip move combo, accelerating past the blocker before quickly collapsing on Brosmer in the pocket for a drive-ending sack, his seventh of the season thus far.

Williams didn’t register another tackle or sack from that point on, but he remained disruptive on a smaller workload than usual. Even while seeing regular double teams, he produced a trio of pressures on Brosmer and the attention he attracted from Minnesota’s offensive line opened things up for other players on the defensive line, including Byron Murphy II, who recorded his seventh sack with “Big Cat” drawing blocks from multiple defenders. According to Pro Football Focus, he produced a 20% pressure rate on True Pass Sets, the highest of any player with at least five pass rushing snaps on the team.

### Zach Charbonnet

**Overall Grade**: 83.0 (Rushing 84, Pass Blocking 80\*)

*\*Weighted for six pass protection snaps*

Stat lines don’t always paint an accurate picture for how well a player performed, and Charbonnet presents a prime example in Sunday’s victory. Though he averaged just 3.7 yards per carry, much of that had to do with subpar blocking in front of him, as he averaged a league-worst -1.36 yards before contact per carry last week according to TruMedia. Even with that ugly number, however, he excelled at turning blown up plays into something positive, averaging more than five yards per carry after contact. This included as spectacular of a seven-yard run as you will see in the second quarter, when he evaded cornerback Isaiah Rodgers on the blitz two yards in the backfield before breaking through a couple more arm tackles to advance Seattle into the red zone for the first time.

Saving his best run as a dagger to put in Minnesota’s coffin, Charbonnet took the handoff on an outside zone run in the fourth quarter and followed outstanding lead blocks by tight ends Nick Kallerup and AJ Barner, exploding towards the sideline with little resistance. As he sprinted towards the end zone, he slipped through another tackle to find pay dirt for a 17-yard touchdown, putting an exclamation point on Seattle’s big win. Though he was charged with giving up a sack in pass pro, the block attempt on that play actually was pretty good picking up a blitzing linebacker in the A gap, and he generally did a strong job in that department to go with eight missed tackles forced toting the rock out of the backfield in an outing that transcended his statistics across the board.