Getty Gallery: 6/6
No. 9 Minnesota Vikings
No. 10 Seattle Seahawks
Although the Vikings weren't in quite as tough a spot as the Green Bay Packers were heading into Sunday Night Football in Week 12, there was some cause for concern. Kirk Cousins and company were coming off a loss to the Bears which pushed them further back from Chicago in the NFC North. So taking on the Packers and Aaron Rodgers in primetime set up a big game.
The Vikings walked away with a 24-17 win which moved them to 6-4-1 on the season and dropped Green Bay to 4-6-1. Most importantly, it meant that Rodgers and the Packers' playoff chance are now on life support and they'll need a big push to catch up and even stay in the Wild Card mix.
Minnesota had a lot to be excited about in their win over Green Bay, but it started with the duo of Cousins and his top-two wideouts in Adam Thielen and Stefon Diggs. Cousins had an excellent showing on Sunday Night Football, throwing for 342 yards and three touchdowns while Thielen got back above the 100-yard mark after falling short in the two weeks prior.
Diggs saw another game with double-digit targets, receiving 11 looks from his quarterback in the win. This now makes for his third-straight game with a touchdown and a total of 55 targets in the last four weeks.
Seahawks Hitting Their Stride at the Right Time
While the Seahawks, who are now 6-5 on the year, aren't going to catch the Rams atop the NFC West, they've started playing solid football in recent weeks, and it could come at a better time. After back-to-back losses to the Los Angeles teams – 25-17 to the Chargers and 36-31 to the Rams, they've won two-straight games.
Although a win over either the Chargers or Rams would have been big, Seattle won the two games prior and then proceeded to knock off the Packers. But their Week 12 win on the road against the Carolina Panthers was a victory that grabbed some attention. Traveling across the country and picking up a win is never an easy task, but it's especially tough when you consider it came against a solid Panthers team and quarterback Cam Newton.
This win against Carolina also could prove to give Russell Wilson and company an edge in the Wild Card race. The Panthers, who have their own 10-1 divisional opponent in the Saints, now sit with a 6-5 record as well.
Quite a few players stepped up big for the Seahawks in Sunday's victory, but a wide receiver duo in Tyler Lockett (five catches, 107 yards, one touchdown) and David Moore (four catches, 103 yards, one score) stood out. The fact that Wilson's rapport with his receivers other than Doug Baldwin is rapidly improving will go a long way towards this team's success in 2018 and beyond.
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