The Minnesota Vikings take on the Seattle Seahawks this Sunday night. Here are the five Seahawks the team should be most concerned about.
The Minnesota Vikings are 1-3 and now go on the road to face an undefeated team in prime time. The Vikings seem to face the Seattle Seahawks every season and this year their quarterback has been on an MVP-like pace.
The Vikings have been playing better as of late and are coming off their first win of the season and before that lost a game by just one point against another undefeated team. While the team has gotten better since their horrendous efforts in the first couple of contests, they still have plenty of issues going on.
Their defense still gives up big plays in the passing game and their pass rush doesn’t hit home nearly as often as it has in recent seasons. On offense, the line continues to struggle and is especially loose in pass protection.
While the Seahawks defense has had their struggles this season, it is mostly because of injury. They have been hit especially hard in their secondary and will have plenty of backups seeing time this Sunday. Despite those injuries, the Seahawks are still loaded with talent. They have many players who match up favorably with the Vikings and these are the ones that will give the Purple the most trouble.
DK Metcalf – WR
Metcalf is a freak of a human being with a body that looks like it was chiseled from granite and the speed to match. His ability as a receiver has begun to catch up to his god-like physique and he’s quietly becoming one of the better pass catchers in the league.
Metcalf has been one of the favorite targets of the hot Russell Wilson and has been on a tear through the first four games. He has posted an impressive stat line of 16 receptions for 403 yards and three touchdowns. That touchdown number would’ve been even higher had he not made a bone-headed Leon Lett move a few weeks back and had the ball knocked out of his hands on the half yard line and go through the endzone for a touchdown. He learned a tough lesson from that and is something he’ll likely never allow to happen again.
Metcalf and his combination of speed, strength, and size will be a nightmare against the young cornerbacks of the Minnesota Vikings. While Gladney and Dantzler have steadily been improving, Metcalf is a monster who can either out jump and outmuscle them for a ball and also has the wheels to burn by them if they hesitate or bite on a fake. This freak has had an impressive start to the 2020 season and his numbers should look even better after the game this Sunday night.
Poona Ford – DT
Poona Ford isn’t a nationally known player but he’s certainly someone the Vikings remember from a season ago. Ford is a short, stocky player who has plenty of speed and power and excels and shutting down the opposing team’s running attack.
Ford gave Garrett Bradbury all he could handle in last year’s matchup. He overpowered the young center on just about every snap and pushed him into the backfield. That disruption caused the Vikings’ run game to falter and put Cook on one of his worst performances of the 2019 season, as he rushed for just 27 yards.
Poona’s stats don’t really tell the story of the impact he has on an offense. His 7 tackles on the season and 3 tackles for a loss in 4 games don’t scream elite run defender, but he does so much that doesn’t show up on the stat sheet. Whether that is collapsing the pocket, plugging running lanes, or consistently wearing down the center, Ford is a beast who is a huge asset to the Seahawks front seven.
The good news for the Minnesota Vikings is that Bradbury is much-improved from a season ago and that time in the weight room in the offseason has helped him better anchor against strong powerful nose tackles like Poona Ford. So perhaps there’s a chance we don’t see a repeat of last season’s domination.
Russell Wilson – QB
Here’s the number one player the Minnesota Vikings need to be the most worried and concerned about this Sunday night. Russell Wilson is arguably the best quarterback in football right now. The guy is just on fire. He’s taking shots down the field with his speedy wide receivers and dropping absolute dimes into his pass-catchers’ supple mitts.
Wilson’s accuracy has always been great, but this season it’s off the charts. He’s still got that elite athletic ability, which allows him to avoid pressure in the pocket and buy himself extra time to hit his talented targets down the field. His stats are downright gaudy this season. Wilson has racked up 1,285 passing yards, 16 touchdowns, and has rushed for 95.
What is the most worrisome about this matchup for the Vikings is that they’ve failed to generate much of a pass rush this season. Yannick Ngakoue has been the only persistent threat rushing the passer, and if the Seahawks double team him and plan to take him out of the game, Wilson is going to have all the time in the world to hit his explosive targets down the field.
Mike Zimmer will need to do two things to help neutralize Wilson. He’ll need a linebacker to spy him at all times, and will also have to get creative in either creating new and exotic blitz packages or moving Ngakoue all over the line so the Seahawks have trouble figuring out how to double team him. If they fail to do this, Wilson could have his most productive game of the season yet.
Tyler Lockett – WR
Tyler Lockett isn’t the biggest wide receiver in the game, but he’s definitely one of the most underrated. Despite his 5″10, 182 pound frame, this guy produces on a game by game basis and is clearly Russell Wilson’s favorite and most trusted target.
Lockett has been having one of the better seasons so far of any receiver in the league. He’s grabbed 26 balls for 298 yards and four touchdowns. While some of the defenses the Seahawks have faced this season haven’t been the best, Lockett did have an impressive game against a tough Patriots secondary.
The Vikings’ cornerbacks are going to have their hands full with Lockett and Metcalf. They’ll likely try to put size on size, and have Holton Hill cover the bigger and stronger Metcalf. That could put young Jeff Gladney on Lockett. While they matchup well physically, it’s the six years of experience that will truly be the separator.
Lockett is a savvy route runner, with great quickness and burst. He’ll surely more than once fool the young corner and find himself wide open at times. Hopefully, when this occurs the Vikings will get some pressure on Wilson, forcing him to throw the ball out earlier than he wants to. If not, Lockett could top the 9 receptions, 100 yards, and three touchdown line he put up against the Cowboys a few weeks back.
Bobby Wagner – LB
The Seattle defense has been banged up and has given up a ton of passing yards to opponents in recent games. While injuries have forced a lot of new faces in their lineup, one old dog who’s still barking is Bobby Wagner.
Wagner is one of the best linebackers in the game and is once again having another solid season. Through the first four games of this strange fanless season, Wagner has 38 tackles, a tackle for a loss, and four pass breakups. He’s one of the rare linebackers who is great in every facet of playing the linebacker position.
Wagner has played the Minnesota Vikings extremely tough in the last couple of meetings. In those two games, he’s totaled 18 tackles and a pass break up. He’s been a mad man and can be a pain in the ass against the run and also cover tight ends and backs coming over the middle.
Wagner is the type of player the Vikings will need to be aware of on every snap. They’ll need to ensure there’s a body on him at all times. Whether that is a guard or center cracking down, or using more C.J. Ham this week.
If Wagner is left untouched he will make a ton of plays for the Seahawks defense. If he’s allowed to do that, most of those plays will occur in the Vikings’ backfield and will severely hinder their ability to move the football down the field.