SEATTLE (1-1) at MINNESOTA (0-2)
Sunday, 4:25 p.m. EDT, Fox
OPENING LINE: Seahawks by 1, according to FanDuel SportsBook.
AGAINST THE SPREAD: Seahawks 1-1, Vikings 1-1.
SERIES RECORD: Seahawks lead 13-5.
LAST MEETING: Seahawks beat Vikings 27-26 on Oct. 11, 2020 in Seattle.
LAST WEEK: Seahawks lost to Titans 33-30 in OT; Vikings lost to Cardinals 34-33.
SEAHAWKS OFFENSE: OVERALL (11), RUSH (19), PASS (10), SCORING (9).
SEAHAWKS DEFENSE: OVERALL (30), RUSH (31), PASS (22), SCORING (16).
VIKINGS OFFENSE: OVERALL (6), RUSH (10), PASS (8), SCORING (11).
VIKINGS DEFENSE: OVERALL (28), RUSH (21T), PASS (26), SCORING (27).
TURNOVER DIFFERENTIAL: Seahawks plus-1; Vikings plus-1.
SEAHAWKS PLAYER TO WATCH: WR Tyler Lockett. The deep ball is back as a big part of the offense due to the talents of Lockett, who had TD receptions of 69 yards in Week 1 and 63 yards in Week 2. He’s one of six wide receivers in history with TD catches of 60 or more yards in each of the first two games of a season. No player has done so in three straight games out of the gate.
VIKINGS PLAYER TO WATCH: K Greg Joseph. The team’s new kicker has made three FGs from 52-plus yards this year, but he missed an extra point and what would have been the winning 37-yard FG on the final play at Arizona.
KEY MATCHUP: Seahawks CBs Tre Flowers and D.J. Reed vs. Vikings WRs Justin Jefferson and Adam Thielen. Shaquill Griffin’s exit as a free agent thinned the CB group for Seattle, and Minnesota’s WR tandem — with K.J. Osborn emerging as an impactful No. 3 option — is as dangerous as any in the league.
KEY INJURIES: Seahawks rookie WR Dee Eskridge did not practice Wednesday, still not cleared from a concussion suffered in Week 1. … Seahawks RT Brandon Shell sprained his ankle against Tennessee and was held out Wednesday, with Jamarco Jones the likely replacement. … Vikings RB Dalvin Cook sprained his ankle last week and was held out of practice Wednesday. Coach Mike Zimmer said he expects Cook to play. … Vikings LB Anthony Barr missed the first two games with a knee injury but returned to practice Wednesday.
SERIES NOTES: The Seahawks have won seven straight games against the Vikings, last losing at the Metrodome in 2009. This is their first visit to U.S. Bank Stadium. … Minnesota lost at Seattle in each of the last three seasons.
STATS AND STUFF: Seahawks QB Russell Wilson needs one win to become the second quarterback in league history with 100 or more regular-season victories in his first 10 years. Peyton Manning (105) was the first. … Jason Myers has made 36 straight FGs for the Seahawks but missed an extra point in the fourth quarter of last week’s loss to Tennessee. … Seahawks LB Bobby Wagner had a franchise-record 20 tackles against the Titans, the most by any player in the league since Kwon Alexander in 2016. … Vikings QB Kirk Cousins moved into fourth place on the franchise list for career QB starts (49). … Vikings DE Danielle Hunter is second in the NFL with four sacks. … Vikings LB Eric Kendricks is second in the league with 26 tackles, trailing only Wagner.
FANTASY TIP: Osborn leads the Vikings with 167 receiving yards. They’ve been using far more three-WR sets than last year with the absence of injured TE Irv Smith Jr.
___
More AP NFL coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl and https://twitter.com/AP_NFL
Copyright © 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.