SEATTLE (AP) — kings and Seattle Seahawks sit in the NFC standings Dru Samia Jersey nfl draft , Monday night’s matchup might as well carry a playoff title.NFC play-in game? NFC elimination game?“I think going on the road with that crowd and the type of football team that they are, I think yeah, a little bit. These next four games will determine what we do and where we go and how we perform in the clutch. Yeah, I guess you could say that,” Vikings coach Mike Zimmer said.The Seahawks (7-5) host the Vikings (6-5-1) in a meeting filled with playoff implications. The Seahawks won’t be able to catch the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC West, but their three-game win streak has them sitting in the No. 5 spot in the NFC playoff picture going into the final quarter of the season, with three of their final four games at home.It’s far from a foregone conclusion Seattle is headed to the postseason after missing the playoffs last year. But a win over the Vikings would be a huge step in locking up a postseason berth.“Keeping your head down and grinding is really what it’s all about at this point,” Seattle coach Pete Carroll said. “We’re upbeat and we’re positive. We know that we can win every game and we’re going out to get that done.”If the Vikings want a chance at catching Chicago in the NFC North race, a win in Seattle is almost a must. Far easier said than done, especially when it comes to night games. Seattle is 15-2 at home in Thursday, Sunday or Monday night games dating to Carroll’s arrival in 2010.Minnesota is currently in the No. 6 spot in the NFC and its tie earlier this season against Green Bay could end up being a hindrance — or a benefit. The Vikings are a half-game ahead of Philadelphia, Washington and Carolina entering the week.“It’s big. It’s very big. It’s a road game. We want to go out there and put a full game together as a whole team on the road,” Vikings RB Dalvin Cook said. “This is another game to go out there and do that to show that we’re still in this thing. We’re still fighting. We’ve got to just put it together.”Here’s what else to watch as the teams face for the first time since the 2015 NFC wild-card game:RUSSELL’S ROLLIs anyone going to be able to slow down the efficiency of Seattle quarterback Russell Wilson?Through 12 games, Wilson has 29 touchdowns and just five interceptions. He’s thrown at least two TD passes in eight straight games and 11 of 12 this season. Last week against San Francisco, Wilson had three touchdowns passes onfour completions in the first half.And it’s not just underneath throws or short passes that are turning into touchdowns. Wilson has six TD tosses of 30 or more yards.“He is moving around a little bit. The guys take off. They are second in the league in red-zone touchdown percentage Replica Dru Samia Jersey ,” Zimmer said. “A lot of that has been obviously they run the ball well. He moves in the pocket and guys get open. They’ve had some guys where they had been pretty open, too.”PLAYING CATCHMinnesota’s Adam Thielen and Stefon Diggs are the only receiver duo in the NFC each with more than 80 catches. Thielen has 98 receptions and Diggs has 84. They’ll be facing a pass defense that has been struggling of late, allowing 315 yards per game passing over the past three weeks.REVENGE GAMERevenge might be a strong word, but Minnesota defensive tackles Sheldon Richardson and Tom Johnson might have a little bit more incentive for the game. Richardson played for Seahawks last season before signing with Minnesota in free agency. Seattle couldn’t match the money offered by the Vikings, so Richardson found a new home in Minnesota.Johnson’s situation is a bit stranger. He signed as a free agent with Seattle during the offseason with the intent of being part of the defensive line rotation. He started Week 1 with Seattle, then was released before the Week 2 game at Chicago because of Seattle’s need for a roster spot. The Seahawks believed they would be able to re-sign him the following week, but Johnson chose to return to Minnesota and rejoin the Vikings, the team he had spent the previous four seasons with.Johnson has played in nine games with the Vikings and has 3 ½ sacks.WINNING RECORDCarroll already owns the team record for most victories, regular season and playoffs combined. He can claim the franchise record for most regular-season wins with his next victory. Carroll is currently tied with Mike Holmgren for the top spot with 86 regular-season wins.Asked if he had a regular season win that stuck out, Carroll immediately went to a 2012 overtime victory at Chicago. It was the start of a five-game win streak to close the regular season that got Seattle into the playoffs.“We haven’t been the same since,” Carroll said. MINNEAPOLIS — The Minnesota Vikings hit their stride last year well before midseason, using an eight-game winning streak to build a 13-3 record for the second seed in the NFC.This year, the second half of the season is going to be much more difficult.More Vikings coveragePhotos of the Week: 7/21/19 – 7/27/19Rookie Bradbury is central figure to Vikings’ overhauled offensive lineVikings depth at cornerback being tested, Hughes still not clearedPlayers to watch at Minnesota Vikings 2019 training campTop Tweets: Vikings WR Diggs makes push for All-NFL Style TeamThe challenge starts with the schedule. The next five games include trips to Chicago, New England and Seattle Dru Samia Minnesota Vikings Jerseys , with two division-leading foes and one of the toughest venues to play in. Detroit and Green Bay are the home opponents during that stretch, bringing two dangerous quarterbacks to U.S. Bank Stadium.The Vikings are also 4-3-1, just behind the Bears in the NFC North and slightly ahead of the Packers, so they’ve squandered their margin for error.“I’m not disappointed,” coach Mike Zimmer said. “It is what it is. We have eight more games to go, and that will determine what we end up doing.”After losing 30-20 to New Orleans on Sunday night , the Vikings were mostly upset about the way they let the game slip away . They were in control late in the second quarter with a 13-10 lead, when Adam Thielen plunged forward for extra yardage and lost the ball at the 14-yard line. The Saints turned that fumble into a touchdown, making the potential cost of that rare mistake by Thielen a whopping 14 points.“It’s more frustrating because I think we had it going execution-wise and scheme-wise and all that,” Thielen said on Monday.“I think when it’s maybe a lack of concentration or just being too relaxed or what have you, that’s the frustrating part. Because you know how many times that you’ve done it a different way and the right way, and the one time you slip up it costs you maybe the game.”The other half of Minnesota’s dominant receiver duo, Stefon Diggs, was responsible for the other devastating turnover. Diggs stopped his drag route short before an under-pressure Kirk Cousins dumped the ball off to the spot where he expected Diggs to be had he kept running. The interception was returned for a score to give the Saints a 27-13 advantage.Thielen and Diggs were outspoken after the game about their acceptance of blame, but Zimmer wasn’t having it Minnesota Vikings Jerseys Stitched , and he said as much to the team.“Like I told them in the meeting today, the receivers need to stop saying that stuff because one person doesn’t lose a game. One person doesn’t win a game. We win around here as a team. We lose around here as a team,” Zimmer said.“Guys make mistakes, miscommunication, whatever you want to call it happens. I will never put any one of those one things on one player, ever.”Though the loss clearly hurt the Vikings in the conference and division standings, there were reasons for them to feel better about where they’re headed at the halfway mark. Thielen and Diggs don’t have a pattern of such gaffes, for one. They also played without six injured starters, and young subs such as right tackle Brian O’Neill, linebacker Eric Wilson and cornerback Holton Hill fared well in extended action.“I’m encouraged after this ballgame. I’m encouraged after the last four weeks,” Zimmer said. “If I was ticked off, I’d let them know. Trust me.”
