Seahawks vs. Vikings by the numbers

The Seattle Seahawks and Minnesota Vikings are a fairly even matchup, but a closer look suggests Seattle has an edge. 

The Seattle Seahawks are on the road to take on the Minnesota Vikings. This is a game of massive importance to the Seahawks. A win and their road to the playoffs becomes clear. Lose, and that same road becomes much more difficult.

Statistically, these are two very even teams. Vegas agrees, as this game was a “pick-em” game for most of the week.

Lets take a look at how the two team stack up:

Offense

Defense

* All stats taken from ESPN

As difficult as it is to believe given all the consternation about Seattle’s offensive line, the Seahawks have the significantly better offense of these two teams. While the two teams are about equal in terms of running the football, Seattle has been the significantly better passing team.

Defensively, Minnesota has the edge. They’re allowing less points and less yards overall. They also have the better pass defense.

Where the Seahawks have the edge is in rush defense. Thomas Rawls will be running against bottom 3rd run defense. Adrian Peterson will have to face a top 3rd rush defense.

That means that Seattle’s gameplan will be to do what it does best. They’ll pound the rock with Rawls. Wilson will pick his spots, and try and stretch the defense for a few big plays.

The Vikings won’t have it so easy. They’ll try and run the ball with Peterson, but to score they’ll have to throw the ball much more than they’d prefer.

While the teams are rather even, the matchup favors the Seahawks overall.