Vikings at Seahawks
Two NFC teams that have come back to the pack following fast starts will clash Sunday when the Seattle Seahawks host the Minnesota Vikings. The Seahawks suffered their second straight loss in gut-wrenching fashion, surrendering the winning touchdown with 20 seconds to play in last week's 28-24 loss at Detroit. Minnesota will be looking to rebound from an embarrassing 36-17 home loss to Tampa Bay on Oct. 25, its second defeat in three games following a 4-1 start to the season. The Seahawks are 3-0 at home this season with impressive victories over Dallas, Green Bay and New England.
Seattle and the Vikings have both dropped two games off the lead in their respective divisions and Sunday's matchup could have a bearing on a potential wild card tiebreaker. The teams mirror one another in style of play, relying on punishing ground games to alleviate the pressure on their young quarterbacks.
TV: 4:05 p.m. ET, FOX. LINE: Seahawks -4.5, O/U 38.5
ABOUT THE VIKINGS (5-3): Minnesota won four of its first five against admittedly suspect competition, although one of the victories was over San Francisco. Second-year quarterback Christian Ponder has struggled after a strong start to the season, throwing seven interceptions in his past four games. Adrian Peterson added to his league-leading rushing total with 123 yards and a touchdown on 15 carries, but falling into an early hole vs. Tampa Bay forced the Vikings to stray from the ground game. Minnesota has given up 88 points in its last three games and allowed the Buccaneers to control the ball for nearly 38 minutes. Wideout Percy Harvin is tied for the league lead with 60 catches.
ABOUT THE SEAHAWKS (4-4): Seattle's inability to win away from home (1-4) and within the NFC West (0-3) has spoiled a promising start to the season. While the Seahawks ranked third in the NFL with 16.8 points per game allowed, the defense has not been able to get off the field at key junctures. Detroit converted 12 of 16 on third down, including three on the final drive to deny Seattle its first home win. Running back Marshawn Lynch had his fourth 100-yard game of the season and a career-best 77-yard TD run against the Lions and rookie quarterback Russell Wilson threw for 236 yards - his second-highest total - and two touchdowns despite a receiving corps decimated by injuries.
EXTRA POINTS
1. Peterson and Lynch are 1-2 in the league with 775 and 757 yards rushing, respectively.
2. Vikings CB Chris Cook and Seahawks WR Ben Obomanu each were placed on injured reserve this week.
3. Seattle's defense is the worst in the league at stopping opponents on third-and-10 or longer with a 43.2 success rate (16 of 37).