Stacy Rost’s 3 things to know for Seahawks-Vikings matchup

Dec 20, 2024, 11:58 AM

Host, Bump & Stacy (10 a.m. to 2 p.m.)

In a new video, Seattle Sports host Stacy Rost breaks down three things to know when the Seattle Seahawks play at 1:05 p.m. Sunday against the Minnesota Vikings in a game between two NFC teams tied for the lead in their divisions. You can watch the video or read the edited transcript below.

Seattle Seahawks (8-6) vs. Minnesota Vikings (12-2)

1. The Vikings aren’t the Packers on offense.

The Vikings are a very, very good team with a very good offense. They are not, though, the rushing team that Green Bay is. They’re around 15th in rushing yards per game while Green Bay is a top four rushing team, so this one is not going to be primarily on Seattle’s defense for stopping the run. It’s going to be stopping the Vikings’ passing attack.

2. Learning from Minnesota’s few missteps.

When you are 12-2, there obviously aren’t a lot of examples of games in which you’ve really struggled or lost, so I tried looking at the two teams that the Vikings have lost to and one team that they played really close. The two teams they lost to are the Lions (a very good team), and the Rams (kind of volatile). And then a team that they played very, very close was the Chicago Bears. So the key is that the Vikings’ defense has been great with takeaways, but in every one of these games were limited to only one. They also allowed over 30 points in both losses. So it sounds like basic football math, but try to score often, capitalize on any mistakes the Vikings make, and limit your own. That was at least a key to success for both the Rams and Lions.

3. Yeah, this is a big one.

Finally, the playoff odds from NFL Next Gen Stats for the Seahawks to make the postseason jump to 52% with a win but drop to 24% with a loss, so it is a massively important Week 16 for Seattle.