Covered the Philadelphia Eagles for Philadelphia Magazine and Philly.com from 2008 to 2015.
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The Wild Card playoff game Sunday between the Seattle Seahawks and Minnesota Vikings will be a historic meeting.
So that has the Vikings and Seahawks playing in weather that is nearly certain to be the coldest in Seahawks history – and something of a contrast from Seattle’s 38-7 victory in the same stadium December 6 when the temperature was listed as 37 degrees.
Before the games Sunday settled the NFC playoff seedings, there was a general belief among fans that since the Seahawks would have to play on the road anyway, it didn’t much matter which destination among Green Bay, Washington and Minnesota the Seahawks drew. With a win against the Cardinals and a Packers loss – the Seahawks are headed to the subzero Minnesota tundra to square off against the Vikings. Wilson has 24 TD passes and one interception in that streak. It’s a practice that is popular and reportedly effective when used in other cold weather stadiums across the NFL. Lynch hasn’t played since November 15 though, so trying to predict how he will perform is hard.
-After the 2013 season, the Vikings had a choice to make.
The coldest game during Minnesota’s two-year tenure there was 12 degrees on November 30, 2014, against Carolina. But this is just a bad matchup for them. Moreover, over the previous 10 years of playoff football, home teams have compiled a 23-17 record.
Peterson of the Vikings played college football at the University of Oklahoma. Since then, a steady diet of Peterson has been the foundation of the Vikings’ game plan. “I’ve been very impressed by what they’ve accomplished”.
In last week’s game, Minnesota got a win over the Packers 20-13.
Stopping Peterson will still be priority number one for the Seahawks this week.
One thing they won’t see is Marshawn Lynch, the bruising tailback who has been sidelined by an abdominal injury since November. The offensive line will need to play well against a fast Seattle defense, or they may have trouble or this offense could be dead in the water.
Seattle is 9-3 SU when leading at the start of the fourth quarter this season. If not, they lose; simple as that. The bummer, it starts against the team that’s attempting to appear in their third Super Bowl in three years.
Speaking of Peterson, I noticed his numbers haven’t been great down the stretch.
Due to a kick return fumble made by Cordarrelle Patterson, Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers was able to set the Packers on the 13-yard line prior to calling a questionable timeout at 2:18 instead of waiting for the two minute warning. What has the issue been there? Peterson had carried the ball five times for 10 yards in the first half.
-Nose tackle Linval Joseph, who has missed four of the last five games because of an injured big toe, practiced Wednesday for the first time in two weeks. The Vikings will be at full strength – and it looks like the Seahawks will be too.
The Vikings have a word of advice for fans heading for the wild card playoff game at TCF Bank stadium on Sunday: Don’t show up wearing nothing but a gold “V” painted on your bare chest.
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Kapadia: Pressure on Wilson is the one thing that can slow down the Seahawks’ offense. The Vikings simply have to have a ground game if they are going to compete with the hottest team in the League.
