What’s next? The Seahawks will now go to Carolina to take on the Panthers, who beat Seattle 27-23 in a Week 6 game the Seahawks at one point led 23-14.
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The Vikings will enjoy home field advantage in their playoff game today versus the Seahawks, but Seattle is the favorite to get the win on the road. He appeared in seven games during the regular season, carrying 111 times for 417 yards (3.76 yards per carry).
Lynch underwent abdominal surgery November 25, but had been rehabbing this month and joined the team for workouts this week. But following the team’s final workout at its practice facility Friday, the Seahawks said, Lynch notified them that he could not play Sunday. As the Vikings’ slot or nickel cornerback, Munnerlyn will often be matched against Seattle’s Doug Baldwin, the most successful slot receiver in the National Football League this season.
Peterson will look to open the offense for the Vikings, as second year quarterback Teddy Bridgewater has been inconsistent throwing the ball this season.
The Seahawks said that Lynch did not make the trip to Minneapolis.
Second-half performances have been the Vikings strength of late, averaging 21.6 points after half time over their last three games.
But the hosts looked set to recover when Bridgewater led them on a six-play, 52-yard drive down to the Seattle nine-yard line, only for Walsh to miss his kick in an astonishing finale. Outside of that touchdown return, the Vikings were kept in check for the entire 60 minutes.
If Seattle loses on Sunday, it is now quite probable that Beast Mode has played his last game for the Seahawks.
This matchup is a tale of two teams that had completely opposite seasons.
The Vikings also can gain confidence from the fact the Rams were able to win without a great offensive performance from any one player.
When the Seahawks are playing well on defense, they play one of two ways.
Experience will play a big role in who comes out on top. Running back Todd Gurley gained 83 yards on 19 carries with a touchdown. He returned to the team Monday and Seattle head coach Pete Carroll said Lynch is a “full go” for the game. Michael is coming off a career-high 102 yards rushing in the regular season finale against Arizona.
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The Vikings enter the game as the NFC North Champions having just defeated the Green Bay Packers in week 17 to win the division title.
