The Seattle Seahawks (8-3) are set to play Sunday, hosting the Minnesota Vikings (4-7) in Week 13 of the NFL season. The Seahawks recovered in Week 12 with a road win over the Tennessee Titans after losing to the Los Angeles Rams the week before.
It has been a while since the Seahawks had a convincing win over a team. The last time was in the 44-22 Week 10 win at home against the Arizona Cardinals. Seattle has four wins this season where the game was decided by 10 or more points. There is a possibility that the Seahawks could get another decisive win on Sunday versus the Vikings.
NFL.com experts Ali Bhanpuri, Tom Bliar, Brooke Cersosimo, Gennaro Filiice, and Dan Parr made predictions of all Week 13 games this week, including the Seahawks and the Vikings. All five experts believe Seattle will not only get the win over Minnesota, but most believe it will be decisive.
All five experts believe that the Seahawks will win by more than 10 points. Filence and Parr believe the Seahawks will win by 16 or more points. The average that the Seahawks are projected to win by, according to the experts, is 13.8 points.
There are several key reasons why the Seahawks are big favorites in this game. The first is the Seahawks defense that ranks seventh in the league in points allowed per game (19.7). Seattle has accounted for a league-high 193 quarterbacks, according to Next Gen Stats, thanks to the tenacious pass-rushing from defensive end Leonard Williams, defensive tackle Byron Murphy II, and edge rusher DeMarcus Lawrence.
Another reason is that former Vikings quarterback, now Seahawk, Sam Darnold, will look to get revenge on his old team. Darnold led the Vikings to an overall record of 14-3, but didn’t have a great playoff performance against the Los Angeles Rams, like most of the team. As a result of a rough finish, Darnold was pushed to free agency in favor of the young first-round quarterback J.J. McCarthy.
Speaking of McCarthy, the Vikings are likely not going to have him under center for a while, as he is on the concussion protocol list. This means that former undrafted rookie Max Brosmer will likely be the starter against the Seahawks’ defense, which is best known for pressuring and tormenting the quarterback. Brosmer has thrown only eight passes in three games played this season.
This game should be every opportunity for the Seahawks to take another big win on Sunday and rebuild some momentum for the remainder of the season.
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