The Minnesota Vikings will host the Seattle Seahawks at TCF Bank Stadium in one of the most important games of Week 13. This game could have big implications on the NFC Wild Card race.
The Vikings are 8-3 and sitting in first place in the NFC North, but the Green Bay Packers are just one game behind and own a head-to-head tiebreaker. Meanwhile, Seattle is 6-5 and currently holds the No. 6 playoff seed. Whoever wins will hold an important tiebreaker, should the playoff race come down to that.
Seattle won a back-and-forth thriller over the Pittsburgh Steelers doing something it hasn't always done in the Pete Carroll era -- win in a shootout. Russell Wilson outdueled Ben Roethlisberger, tossing five touchdowns on 21-of-30 passing in the 39-30 win. It was an impressive performance by Wilson on a day when Thomas Rawls was mostly quiet (81 rushing yards on 21 carries, 3.9 yard per carry) and the defense gave up 538 total yards.
The Seahawks went all-out to contain Antonio Brown and Martavis Bryant, but the result was that Markus Wheaton found himself open again and again. Wheaton finished with nine catches for 201 yards and a touchdown, and Seattle's defense was once again vulnerable on seam routes.
The Vikings won't be quite the same threat in the air, but that's mostly by design. Adrian Peterson is once again carrying Minnesota's entire offense, leading the league with 1,164 yards and averaging 4.9 yards per carry. He had another monster game last week, gashing the Atlanta Falcons for 158 rushing yards and two touchdowns. He'll face a tougher challenge against the Seahawks' fifth-ranked run defense, which means that the Vikings will likely need Teddy Bridgewater to make more plays.
Bridgewater has mostly been a caretaker on offense this year. Through 11 games, he has just 2,280 passing yards and eight touchdowns to seven interceptions. Only Nick Foles and Colin Kaepernick have thrown fewer touchdowns among starting quarterbacks this season, and both of those players got benched.
Bridgewater hasn't been helped out by his receiving corps. Stefon Diggs has shown flashes of brilliance in his rookie year, but he hasn't scored a touchdown since Week 8. Mike Wallace has been a complete non-factor, getting just 28 catches and one touchdown in 11 games this year.
But the Vikings aren't relying on the passing game to win games -- they're leaning on Peterson and the defense. Minnesota is fourth in the league in passing yards allowed per game, and cornerback Xavier Rhodes is coming off an impressive performance last week keeping Julio Jones in check. Anthony Barr is emerging as a sideline-to-sideline force in his second year, while Everson Griffen is tied for seventh in the league with 7.5 sacks.
This game promises a classic matchup of similar styles, with both teams relying on their their running games and defenses to win. Whoever comes out on top could depend on which quarterback gets his passing offense together. Vegas has this as a pick 'em, with an over/under set at just 41.5, according to OddsShark.
How to watch
When: 1 p.m. ET
Where: TCF Bank Stadium, Minneapolis
TV: FOX
Announcers: Kevin Burkhardt, John Lynch, Pam Oliver
Online: NFL Game Pass
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