The Minnesota Vikings (11-5) host their 1st playoff game since 2009 when the Seattle Seahawks (10-6) travel to Minneapolis for the Wild Card Round match up. Kickoff is scheduled for noon at TCF Bank Stadium on Sunday with the game nationally televised on NBC. The Vikings and Seahawks met in Week 13 in Minnesota, a 38-7 Seahawks win. The Vikings posted a 6-2 record at home in 2015, while the Seahawks owned a 5-3 road record this season.
In Week 17, the Vikings secured the NFC North crown after defeating the Green Bay Packers, 20-13, at Lambeau Field. The Seahawks beat the Arizona Cardinals, 36-6, on the road in the regular season finale.
RB Adrian Peterson won his 3rd career rushing title, totaling 1,485 yards on the ground, the 4th best single season total in Vikings history. Peterson, who is currently 30, became the 2nd-oldest player since the merger to lead the NFL in rushing, trailing only Curtis Martin who won the rushing title at the age of 31 in 2004. Peterson scored his 97th career rushing TD at Green Bay in Week 17, the 10th most all time. As a team, the Vikings ranked 4th in rushing yards per game with a 138.2 mark.
The Vikings defense allowed the 5th-fewest points per game (19.3) in the NFL in the regular season. DE Everson Griffen corralled Aaron Rodgers twice in Week 17 to give him 10.5 sacks on the season, his 2nd consecutive season with 10 sacks.
BROADCAST COVERAGE
NATIONAL TELEVISION: NBC (Channel 11 in the Twin Cities)
Play-by-Play: Al Michaels Analyst: Cris Collinsworth
Sideline: Michele Tafoya
NATIONAL RADIO: WESTWOOD ONE
Play-by-Play: Kevin Kugler Analyst: James Lofton
Pre-Game and Halftime Show: Scott Graham
LOCAL RADIO: KFAN-FM 100.3/KTLK-AM 1130
Play-by-Play: Paul Allen Analyst: Pete Bercich
Sideline Reporter: Greg Coleman
Pre-Game Show: Mike Mussman – 10 a.m. CT
KFAN and KTLK serve as the flagship stations for the 72-station, 5-state Vikings Radio Network.
NORSEMAN NOTABLES
• In 4 career playoff games, RB Adrian Peterson has 367 rushing yards on 93 attempts and 41 receiving yards on 4 receptions. Peterson has scored 5 career TDs, all rushing, in the postseason, including a team- record 3 TDs in 1 game at New Orleans (1/24/10).
• K Kevin McDermott led the NFL in the 2015 regular season with 34 FGs, 1 FG shy of tying the most in franchise history. Walsh totaled 135 points, the 3rd most points in a single season in team history.
• S Harrison Smith intercepted his 12th career pass and recorded his Vikings franchise record 4th INT return TD after picking off Eli Manning vs. NYG (12/27).
• Vikings LB Eric Kendricks led the Vikings with 105 tackles, becoming only the 2nd rookie in franchise history to lead the team in tackles (Rip Hawkins, 1961).
• RB Jerick McKinnon scored his 1st career TD on a 17-yard reception and set a career high with 76 receiving yards on a season-best 4 receptions vs. Chicago (12/20) and followed it up with a 2-TD performance vs. the Giants (12/27) - a 7-yard run and a career-long 68-yard run.
• WR Adam Thielen had 2 rushes for 67 yards at GB in Week 17, the 2nd-highest total by a WR in the NFL in 2015. Thielen recorded his career long rush of 41 yards on a fake punt in the 1st quarter.
• After throwing a career-high 4 TDs and rushing for 1 TD vs. Chicago (12/20), QB Stefon Diggs became the 1st Viking to account for 5 TDs in a game since QB Daunte Culpepper threw for 5 TDs at New Orleans (10/17/04).
• With a .687 regular season win percentage (11-5) in 2 years at TCF Bank Stadium, the Vikings finished with the highest home win percentage all-time among teams playing in a temporary stadium and are the only team to make the playoffs while playing in a temporary stadium.
• With 52 receptions, WR Stefon Diggs finished 3rd in Vikings history for receptions by a rookie, trailing only Randy Moss (69, 1998) and Percy Harvin (60, 2009). Diggs also becomes the 1st rookie in franchise history to lead the team in receptions.
• DE Danielle Hunter is 2nd among all rookies with 6.0 sacks on the season. Hunter, who turned 21 on October 29, is the youngest player in the NFL.
VIKINGS-SEAHAWKS CONNECTIONS
• Seattle Seahawks Executive VP of Football Operations and Head Coach Pete Carroll served as the DBs coach with the Minnesota Vikings from 1985-89. Carroll's son, Nate, is the Seahawks Assistant WRs Coach and was born in Edina, Minnesota during the elder Carroll's stint with the Vikings.
• Seahawks Offensive Coordinator Darrell Bevell served in the same role for the Vikings from 2006-10 and was with the Vikings for their last playoff win in 2009.
• Seahawks FB Derrick Coleman signed with the Vikings as an undrafted rookie free agent in 2012.
• Seahawks QB Tarvaris Jackson was originally drafted by Minnesota in the 2nd round of the 2006 NFL Draft (64th overall). He spent 5 seasons with the Vikings, playing in 36 games with 20 starts.
• Vikings DB coach Jerry Gray coached the Seahawks DBs in 2010.
• Seattle area scout Todd Brunner's father, John, coached for the Minnesota Vikings from 1987-91.
• Vikings Coaching Assistant Drew Petzing and Seahawks K Steven Hauschka were teammates at Middlebury College. Hauschka originally signed with the Vikings as an undrafted free agent in 2008.
LOCAL CONNECTIONS
• Seattle Seahawks Co-Director of Player Personnel Trent Kirchner graduated from St. John's University in Minnesota, where he played QB for 2 years. He interned with the Minnesota Twins in 1999.
• Seahawks Research Analyst Brian Eayrs attended Augsburg College in Minneapolis where he played QB. Eayrs' father, Mike, held a similar position for the Vikings and Packers before recently retiring.
• Seahawks Director of Health and Player Performance Sam Ramsden grew up in La Crescent, Minnesota.
• Seattle Seahawks General Manager John Schneider is a graduate of the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul.
COLLEGE CONNECTIONS
• Vikings WR Jarius Wright played at Arkansas with Seahawks G/T Alvin Bailey from 2010-11.
• Vikings K Blair Walsh and Seahawks DE Demarcus Dobbs played at Georgia together from 2008-10.
• Vikings S Andrew Sendejo played for Rice with Seahawks TE Luke Willson in 2009.
• Vikings CB Mackensie Alexander played for South Carolina with Seahawks C Lemuel Jeanpierre from 2006-08.
• There are seven players from UCLA in this matchup: Vikings LB Anthony Barr, Vikings LB Eric Kendricks, Vikings G Mike Harris, Vikings P Kevin McDermott, Vikings LS Kevin McDermott, Seahawks FB Derrick Coleman, and Seahawks DE Cassius Marsh.
• Vikings DE Everson Griffen and T Riley Reiff both played at USC with Seahawks LB Michael Morgan.
VIKINGS-SEAHAWKS SERIES NOTES
• Prior to Sunday's game, the Vikings and Seahawks have never played each other in a playoff contest or an overtime game.
• The Vikings have a 3-3 mark against the Seahawks at home and will host the Seahawks outdoors in Minnesota for only the 3rd time. The 2
teams played at Met Stadium in 1976 when the Vikings won 27-21 and earlier this season when the Seahawks won 38-7.
• Seattle's 1st Head Coach in franchise history was former Vikings DL Coach Jack Patera. Patera coached for the Vikings from 1969-75 and for the Seahawks from 1976-82.
A WIN WOULD
• Improve Mike Zimmer's record as a head coach to 19-14 and bump Teddy Bridgewater's record as a starting QB to 18-11 and give them each their 1st playoff victory.
• Give the Vikings their 7th home win on the season and give them their 1st playoff win since 2009 and
• Snap a 3-game skid vs. Seattle.