On Monday Night Football, the Minnesota Vikings will travel to CenturyLink Field in Seattle, Washington to take on the Seahawks. This Monday Night Football matchup will kick off at 8:15 PM. ET.
The Minnesota Vikings are coming off a disappointing loss to the Patriots in week 13. The Vikings are second in NFC North behind the Chicago Bear. With Chicago’s win against the Rams on Sunday Night Football, the Vikings window to catch the Bears for the division lead is shrinking. With only 4 games remaining in the season, Minnesota cannot afford to fall further behind.
The Seahawks are in a similar boat to the Vikings. Seattle is second in the NFC West behind the Los Angeles Rams. The Seahawks currently hold the first wild card spot. But with a crowded field of competitors all vying for the 2 playoff spots, the margin for error is getting slimmer. If the Seahawks have any intention of having a deep playoff run, then they’ll need to create some distance from the rest of the wild card contenders.
Will Minnesota’s offense show up against Seattle?
In week 13 against the Patriots, the Vikings struggled to put up points. Cousins averaged a measly 4.6 yards per pass attempt. In the game, Stephon Diggs lead all receivers with 49 receiving yards.
It’s clear that the Viking’s defense was completely shut down through the air, and that’s something they’ll need to overcome when they take on Seattle.
On the season, the Vikings have the 8th ranked passing offense. Minnesota averages 274.8 yards passing per game. In 2018, despite having two of the best receivers in the league, the Vikings haven’t had a lot of big plays through the air.
On the season, Minnesota has completed 38 passing plays of 20 or more yards and only 3 passing plays of 40 or more yards. Against the Seahawks, expect the Vikings’ receivers to put up more yards than they did in week 13, but don’t expect those totals to come from a single big play.
Without an elite defense, what is Seattle’s identity?
The answer is still out on this question. Seattle for years had a defense that could shut down any opponent.
Even with retooling defense, the Seahawks are still a challenge for any team to face on the road.
Seattle’s defense ranks 19th in terms of yards allowed and 8th in points allowed per game.
Against a pass happy offense in the Vikings, expect Seattle’s defense to limit Minnesota’s offense in the red zone.
Against the 49ers in week 13, Russell Wilson had his best game of the season.
In that game, Wilson completed 11 of 17 passes for 185 yards and 4 touchdowns. Wilson also chipped in 14 yards rushing on 4 carries.
Against a Minnesota defense that’s allowing the 11th fewest points per game, expect Wilson to come back down to earth this week.
Vikings Vs Seahawks Betting Lines
BetOnline.ag has the Seahawks favored to win the game by -3 points. The over/under on total points scored is 46 You can read our full BetOnline review here.
My Pick
This should be a low scoring game. Seattle’s passing attack has been atrocious. The Seahawk rank 27th in the league in terms of yards per game, but rank 9th in terms of points per game. The Vikings offense should be better than it is. They had all the hype coming into the season, and the addition of a franchise quarterback should have helped to push them over the hump. While they’ve played well at times this season, they’ve largely disappointed.
The fact that both these teams are in playoff position certainly dulls some of the criticism they’re receiving. Whichever team losses this matchup, will have their playoff hopes take a major hit. With all that said, Minnesota on the road should have a lot to prove. Expect a bounce back performance from the Vikings to barely get past the Seahawks.
Play: Vikings +3 @ BetOnline.ag
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