NFL Wild Card preview: Seahawks ripe for upset?
The Seattle Seahawks are 10-6 and the sixth seed in the NFC playoffs. If you knew absolutely nothing about the National Football League (you know, like most of the people over at ESPN), you would think they are nothing but a tacit threat to a true contender on its way to a title.
Of course, a wise NFL fan knows better. The Seahawks are one of the most dangerous teams in the postseason, having gone to the Super Bowl in each of the last two seasons. Seattle started this season at 2-4 but has rallied something fierce, rattling off eight wins over its last 10 contests including a stirring 36-6 hammering of the Arizona Cardinals last weekend.
For starters in the playoffs, the Seahawks will have the task of going to play the Minnesota Vikings at TCF Bank Stadium. The temperature is expected to be around zero degrees at kickoff, with the wind chill putting the air around 15 to 20 degrees below zero. Regardless of how tough you are, that kind of cold is going to have some impact.
Yet, Seattle has the confidence of knowing it can beat Minnesota in its own building. On Dec. 6, the Seahawks destroyed the Vikings 38-7 in a game that was not even that close. Russell Wilson threw five touchdowns and made the Minnesota defense look like a minor league outfit, showcasing his ability to throw from the pocket.
Still, the Vikings are playing very good football as of late. They went into Arizona on a Thursday night and played admirably in a one-score loss before winning out, including a 20-13 win at Lambeau Field over the favored Green Bay Packers to win the NFC North.
Minnesota is a 4.5-point underdog in this affair, but it has the horses to be competitive. NFL rushing champion Adrian Peterson is always a threat to break the game open and Teddy Bridgewater is a dual-threat from the pocket. While the receivers won’t daunt the Legion of Boom, Bridgewater and Peterson could cause some problems.
In totality, the Seahawks should win, but don’t sleep on the Vikings.
Pack back, or whack?
The Green Bay Packers and Washington Redskins will play the final game of the weekend on Sunday night, and there are questions abound for both sides.
Washington comes into the game winner of the NFC East and with many dismissing it as a weak team from a bad division. Meanwhile, the Packers have been hideous the past 10 weeks, combing for a 4-6 mark that would have been 3-7 if not for a Hail Mary in Detroit.
The Packers are favored by a point in most Vegas books, showing that public can’t decide on who to take. Smart money should be on the hot team that is at home, with the quarterback playing best. Yes, that is Kirk Cousins.
