The Seahawks host the Vikings on Sunday, looking to keep pace in what is a competitive race at the top of the NFC. While the Seahawks (8-3) are right in the thick of the playoff race, the Vikings (4-7) have struggled this season after going 14-3 a year ago. Despite Minnesota's record, however, the Seahawks know the Vikings are a dangerous opponent, especially when it comes to their aggressive defense.

Here are five things to watch when the Seahawks host the Vikings at Lumen Field on Sunday:

1. Will Sam Darnold shine against his former team?

At this time last year, Sam Darnold was enjoying a breakout season with the Vikings, one that saw him help his team to a 14-3 record while throwing for 4,319 yards and 35 touchdowns on his way to Pro-Bowl honors. The Vikings, however, elected to let Darnold test free agency while turning their offense over to 2024 first-round pick J.J. McCarthy, and the Seahawks moved quickly to sign Darnold after trading Geno Smith.

And in Seattle, Darnold has been even better than he was in last year's standout season with the Vikings, leading the league's most explosive passing attack while posting league-best yards-per-completion (13.5) and yards-per-attempt (9.3) averages, as well as a 106.2 passer rating that ranks fourth in the league.

While Darnold is thriving with his new team, the one that let him leave has struggled, losing five of its past six games while also dealing with injuries and inconsistent play at quarterback. But while this game could be a chance for Darnold to show his former team what it's missing out on this season, his steady demeanor points to Darnold treating this the same as every other game on the schedule rather than as an opportunity for revenge.

"I think he's got a great demeanor about him," receiver Cooper Kupp said. "He's got it pretty locked down."

2. How do the Seahawks handle the Vikings' aggressive pass rush?

The Seahawks have allowed a league-low 11 sacks this season, in part due to strong pass protection from the offensive line, and in part due to other factors such as play-calling and design, Darnold's ability to get the ball out quickly, and the work done by tight ends and running backs to help in pass protection.

And just about all of those factors will be tested on Sunday facing a Vikings defense led by defensive coordinator Brian Flores, who is known as an aggressive play-caller who loves to blitz.

So far this season the Vikings have 27 sacks, a total that ranks near the middle of the league, but their pressure rate of 40.6 percent ranks second in the NFL according to NFL Next Gen Stats. And a lot of that pressure is coming on blitzes, with Minnesota blitzing at a 48.5 percent rate that ranks second in the league.

"It's an aggressive scheme, an aggressive group of players," offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak said. "I have a lot of respect for the way that they go about their business. They attack the ball and cause a lot of negative plays, so it'll be a challenge for us."

If Darnold is going to have a big game against his old team, the Seahawks will have to find ways to slow Minnesota's pass rush.

3. Can the Seahawks make life miserable for a young Vikings QB?

With starting quarterback J.J. McCarthy in the concussion protocol, there's a good chance the Seahawks will face Max Brosmer, an undrafted rookie who, if McCarthy can't play, will be making his first career start.

The Seahawks are great at pressuring quarterbacks without blitzing frequently—their 22 percent blitz rate is the sixth lowest in the league, while they rank third in pressure rate at 40.1 percent—but they tend to get more aggressive against rookie quarterbacks. In Macdonald's two seasons in Seattle, the Seahawks have upped their blitz rate to 30 percent when facing rookie quarterback over the past two seasons, according to Next Gen Stats, and they've had success doing that. While facing rookie quarterbacks the past two seasons, the Seahawks have recorded nine sacks while allowing just 14 completions and an interception when blitzing.

If McCarthy does get cleared less than a week after going into the concussion protocol, which has become rare under the current NFL protocol, the Seahawks would still be facing a young and relatively inexperienced quarterback, as McCarthy missed all of his rookie season due to injury, as well as five games this season. So regardless of who starts Sunday for the Vikings, the Seahawks defense will look to make him uncomfortable.

4. Which offense does a better job taking care of the ball?

The Seahawks played a turnover-free game last week, just their second of the season, and are hoping to make that a trend. Prior to Sunday's win in Tennessee, the Seahawks had committed 12 turnovers in their previous four games, upping their season total to 20, which at the time was the highest in the league. The Seahawks lost that unenviable title last weekend because the Vikings committed three turnovers in a loss to the Packers, bringing their total to 21 for the season, including eight in the past three weeks.

Plenty of factors will determine the outcome of Sunday's game, but given both teams' turnovers issues this season, it could quite possibly come down to which team does a better job taking care of the ball.

5. Do the Seahawks keep making progress in the running game?

One of the more encouraging recent trends for Seattle's offense has been the improvements shown by the running game going back to their Week 10 win over Arizona. The Seahawks rushed for a season-high 198 yards in that game, came back with a solid 135 yards against a tough Rams defense in Week 11, and then in Tennessee, they averaged 5.7 yards per carry, their second-highest mark of the season, while rushing for 114 yards.

Seattle's passing game has been outstanding all season, with Darnold shining and with Jaxon Smith-Njigba putting up receiving yardage at a record pace, but for the offense to be at its best in the closing stretch of the season, the Seahawks know they'll need to be able to lean on the run game at times.

"It's not one thing, but our guys executed well, that's when you have your opportunity to go out and execute," Kubiak said of the improvement in the run game. "I thought our guys did a good job, they prepared the right way. There's plenty of things that we would like back, to do better in that (Tennessee) game. However, I see our run game in general getting better."