NFL Wild Card Preview Vikings at Seahawks

Seattle Seahawks -5 @ Minnesota Vikings 39.5 This game to me is the toughest one to decipher. The Seahawks are probably the hottest team in the league and Russell Wilson is on an unreal tear of 29 touchdowns to one interception in the Seahawks past 7 games. The Seahawks went 6-1 down the stretch and lost in the one game in which Wilson threw an INT. Three of those wins however, came against opponents with a record of 13-35 and their last win against the Cardinals came in a rather meaningless game for Arizona. Still it leaves a 5 touchdown performance at home to the Steelers and a road win against these very Vikings. What ignited Wilson and his strong performance in Minnesota was an ability to establish a running game. Not many teams have been able to do that to the Vikings, but when a team can run consistently on them, it gives them the most trouble. In fact, when facing a team that has ran the ball 25 times or more, the Vikings are 2-4, when their opposition fails to run the ball 25 times the Vikings are 9-1 and their one loss includes a cover of the spread. The biggest news came Friday and it was when Marshawn Lynch was declared out and Linval Joseph was declared in. The news of Lynch out is major. Wilson is hot, but Christine Michael will have to decide this game by demanding carries and keeping the Hawks from being one dimensional. Linval Joseph was having a sure fire Pro Bowl, if not All-Pro season as a big defensive tackle, before missing the past 4 games with a toe injury. The Vikings line as a whole is a force to be reckon with, but his play has been outstanding. Joseph left the Seahawks game earlier in the year which resulted in a loss, and hasn't played in the four weeks since. To the rest of the lines defense, they have held backs to 3.7 yards per carry since losing Joseph, and the thought of Joseph coming back only adds to the ability for the Vikings to force the Seahawks into the pass first situations. If Everson Griffen, Brian Robison, and Danielle Hunter can pin their ears it will be a much more difficult for Wilson. The Vikings however, will need to prove that they can throw the ball down the field to avoid a Seahawks defensive line that is just as scary as the Vikes, and theirs is completely healthy. Michael Bennett is an absolute stud and he can wreak havoc from the inside or rushing on the outside. Minnesota also has the least efficient offensive line to boot. Bridgewater will have to stare down pressure all day and should attempt throw the ball early to avoid Seattle from stacking the box. Bridgewater is usually cool under pressure, but this secondary held him to 118 yards passing in their last duel. The Vikings should understand that it was their inability to pass that kept Seattle's’ offense on the field. The Seahawks dominated time of possession, they established a lead and ran the ball 30+ times as the Vikings had no chance to come back in obvious passing situations. In order to make the pass more of a surprise it may need to be an early go to. In the end, the Seahawks should win this game. Wilson is playing as good as you get, Carroll is the more experienced coach and the Hawks are the more experienced team. The spread is interesting though. A spread that moved from Vikings -1 to Seattle -3 just a month ago has moved two more points. The three may be justified, but certainly anything over four points to me seems to be an over reaction. As mentioned, without now Thomas Rawls and Marshawn Lynch this team will have to find a run game we have never seen before. Whoever is more one dimensional will lose, and while Seattle has an advantage at stopping the Vikings, this could be low scoring enough that one or two scores can stay within striking distance and I have the Vikings losing this in a much more valiant effort, 17-16. Vikings +5, under 39.5