The last time we saw the Seattle Seahawks in a playoff game, the biggest playoff game to be exact, things did not quite go so well for the then defending champions. Now, quarterback Russell Wilson and the Seahawks have a chance to start fresh as they head to a frigid Minnesota to take on the Vikings in an NFC wild card battle.
For the Seahawks, playoff football has been familiar territory for the past few seasons. 2015 however has not gone the way the team often heralded as the NFL’s most dangerous has hoped. From the contract war between Kam Chancellor and the organization to the injury to Marshawn Lynch, the Seahawks drew many question marks early in the season.
Despite starting the season winning just two of their first six, Wilson and the Seahawks re-established their dominance, putting up an impressive five game winning streak during the second half of the season. They also became re-acclimated to the endzone during the latter half of the season, scoring 30 or more points in six of their last eight games.
While Seattle’s offense has been impressive, their defense has long been the story of their success. This weekend will have to be no different as the league’s leading rusher Adrian Peterson and the Minnesota Vikings look to avenge their disappointing outing from the last time the two teams met.
During their Week 13 battle, quarterback Teddy Bridgewater only threw for 118 yards, and did not find the endzone. The team’s only score came from a 101-yard kickoff return by Cordarrelle Patterson. While the return was nothing short of impressive, the lack of offensive scoring coupled with the defense giving up 38 points made it all but meaningless.
For this weekend’s match-up, the Seahawks need to simply continue to play Seahawk football. With Lynch being on the field this time around, the offense will have even more daggers to throw at Minnesota’s defense.
While many may pass this game up as a win for Seattle, the Vikings are not a team to be automatically counted out. For the Vikings, it will be up to Bridgewater and the offense to try to out-duel Wilson and the Seahawks offense against a very dangerous Seattle defense. The Vikings rush attack will also have to seep into the Seahawks backfield, and contain both the running and passing threats Wilson provides.
With a whopping projected high temperature of 1 degree, this game will certainly have the added affect that will cause both teams to pry away from their traditional preparations to deal with the cold weather.
Kickoff for the NFC wild card match-up is scheduled for 1:05 p.m.
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