Sunday night’s result will come down to the running game
We talked about the quarterback matchup earlier, but the Vikings’ best chance to stay in the game this week might be by using their ground attack. Dalvin Cook currently leads the NFL with 424 rushing yards and he is coming off of back-to-back 100-yard games. So he should be a key focal point against the Seahawks.
Cook’s ability to turn something into nothing has been a big advantage for Minnesota this year as they can use him to control the time of possession. Now, Seattle has allowed the third-fewest yards per carry in the league this season (3.4 yards). But they’ve also only faced 89 rushing attempts in their four games (fifth-lowest in NFL).
Unless the Seahawks get out to a huge lead early, the Vikings are likely going to bump that rushing attempt number up by 25 to 30 on Sunday. Cook has been extremely effective, but so has Alexander Mattison, who scored a touchdown during Minnesota’s win over the Texans last week.
And while the Vikings have a strong running game, Seattle may hit the ground as well. Chris Carson has been banged up the past two weeks, but he remains a staple of the Seahawks offense.
With Minnesota allowing the eighth-most rushing yards in the NFL this season, it wouldn’t be a bad strategy to let Russ cook while also slamming it up the middle with Carson.
The Seahawks and Vikings are going to air it out on Sunday. But if one team gets their rushing attack going, it could shift the game.