Late in the season, there’s no more wiggle room for the Seattle Seahawks and their playoff push. If they don’t win out, they will need all the chips to fall their way if they hope to get in the dance.

That challenge isn’t getting any easier with the Minnesota Vikings (12-2) coming to Lumen Field for a Week 16 matchup. Seattle (8-6) needs a bounce back from having their four-game win streak snapped last week against the Green Bay Packers.

The Seahawks and Vikings kick off at 1:05 p.m. on Sunday. Here are five storylines to watch in Seattle’s late-season battle with Minnesota.

Minnesota is averaging 113.2 rush yards per game (15th) this season, led by running back Aaron Jones. Through 14 games, Jones has 979 rushing yards and is averaging 4.6 yards per carry. He also has over 1,300 total scrimmage yards this season.

After holding opponents to under 100 rush yards three times from Weeks 9–13, the Seahawks have given up more than 120 ground yards in back-to-back weeks against the Green Bay Packers and Arizona Cardinals. Seattle’s front must provide some more resistance against the Vikings and force Minnesota quarterback Sam Darnold into passing situations.

The Vikings are most dangerous when their offense is balanced. Seattle has to shut that down early in the game.

In Week 15, Seattle offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb gave running back Zach Charbonnet just eight carries, despite trailing by just 10 points with 10 minutes remaining in the game. Charbonnet took one of those carries for a 24-yard touchdown run. During the week, Grubb spoke about the adjustments he could’ve made but didn’t.

“I think that there are points in football games where you might not be able to run the ball anymore depending on how much time’s left and things like that,” Grubb said on Thursday. “But, if you’re looking for a play and you’re trying to spark the offense, I think it always starts with the playmakers. That was certainly the thought, ‘How do we get the ball to [Metcalf] and [Lockett] and [Jaxon Smith-Njigba]?’”

Lead running back Kenneth Walker III is back after a two-game absence that thrust Charbonnet into the starting role. Grubb now has twice the backfield weapons to scheme into his game plan. Seattle is 6-1 this season when they run the ball 20 or more times and 3-5 when they don’t.

Minnesota has the 28th-ranked pass defense this season (244.9 yards per game allowed), which will be enticing for Grubb’s pass-heavy attack. But Geno Smith can’t do it on his own.

Vikings wide receivers Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison have the second-most combined receiving yards (2,014) among pass-catching duos in the NFL this season. They are one of the most dangerous combos in the league, and Darnold has been efficient at getting them the ball.

Minnesota is going to go to its star receivers early and often. Addison and Jefferson make up about 57 percent of the Vikings’ targets in the passing game. The target share, plus the talent level of both, make for a tall task for Seattle.

“Those guys, they play all the positions so you got to account for them and all the spots,” Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald said Wednesday. “Probably the most diverse route tree that we’re going to get from a duo yet this year and they deserve a lot of credit for that.”

The Seahawks’ pass rush has been hot and cold this season. They are fifth in team pressures (262), but 27th in pressure-to-sack percentage (12.21 percent). Seattle was unable to sack Packers quarterback Jordan Love in Week 15, with Love getting the ball out quickly and Green Bay’s offensive line mitigating the pressure.

Seattle’s 32 sacks this season is tied for 20th with three other teams. Darnold has been good for the Vikings when under pressure this season, but his average time to throw jumps from 2.73 seconds to 3.69 — nearly a second longer the Seahawks may have to try and bring him down.

Love also loses about a second on his average while under pressure this season, but he has been getting the ball out quicker than Darnold in general. If Seattle can shut down Minnesota’s run game, they could tee off on Darnold being forced to pass the ball.

Seahawks fans will double as New York Jets supporters this weekend as Seattle hopes the Jets beat the Los Angeles Rams to aid their playoff push. If the Rams win and the Seahawks lose in Week 16, everything would have to fall perfectly in line for Seattle to earn a playoff spot — including beating Los Angeles in Week 18.

With no margin for error, this will be a huge game to decide the future of Seattle’s season. They can fall behind in the NFC West or potentially retake the division lead.

Game Preview: Can Seahawks Bounce Back vs. Vikings in Week 16?

Seahawks Defense Aims For Better Start vs. Vikings

Did Seahawks OC Ryan Grubb Abandon Run Too Early vs. Packers?

Geno Smith, Ken Walker III Good to Go For Seahawks vs. Vikings

Seahawks Preparing For Vikings Offense Brimming With Playmakers

There’s no real way to sugarcoat it, the Seattle Seahawks were thoroughly outclassed in Sunday night’s 30-13 loss to the Green Bay Packers. While the offense has taken the brunt of the blame, the defense isn’t entirely without fault.

Early on, the Green Bay offense flat out had its way with the Seattle defense. The Packers marched 63 yards down the field on their 10-play opening drive, then went 80 yards on just eight plays on their second drive. After building a 14-0 lead in the first quarter, the Packers were essentially able to cruise to victory for the rest of the game.

To no surprise, the Seahawks were not happy about that start whatsoever. Heading into Sunday’s crucial game against the Minnnesota Vikings, starting on the right foot is a major point of emphasis for Aden Durde’s unit.

“As you continue through this season, you’ve got to understand, we all have to understand as a defense that really you’re in a world where every play does matter,” Durde told reporters Thursday. “I know they’re cliche things to say, but as you go through this, you just have to understand that how we start is ultra important and then how we continue and they’re the things you’re chasing every week, like to be a team that’s playing at the end of this month. They’re the things you’re chasing and we’ve just got to keep improving.”

Unfortunately, slow starts have been a pattern for Seattle this season. For just a few examples, the Seahawks fell behind 14-0 against the New York Jets in Week 13, 16-0 against the San Francisco 49ers in Week 6 and 14-0 against the Detroit Lions in Week 4. Even though they won that Jets game, falling behind so often is definitely cause for concern.

With just three weeks left in the regular season, the Seahawks can’t allow this trend to continue if they want to make the playoffs.

“I think just getting settled down, not making a moment too big and getting settled down,” outside linebacker Derick Hall said. “We did some stuff up front movement-wise. I think once we got that settled down and got the corrections in the second half we played a lot better ball.”

Did Seahawks OC Ryan Grubb Abandon Run Too Early vs. Packers?

Geno Smith, Ken Walker III Good to Go For Seahawks vs. Vikings

Seahawks Preparing For Vikings Offense Brimming With Playmakers

Seahawks QB Geno Smith Expects to Play vs. Vikings

Mike Macdonald Not Discouraged By Seahawks Red Zone Troubles

One: Getting Back in the Win Column, Part 1

LAS VEGAS – Mid-month, Kraken GM Ron Francis sat down with KHN’s John Forslund in another segment of our “From the Front Office” series. Francis liked the way the Seattle squad was playing in early December. As the Kraken look to get back to the win column via the style of play that earned nine of a possible 12 points in the previous half-dozen games, let’s review Francis’ comments:

“I like the way we’re playing in the last two weeks. That’s more our identity. We’re rolling everybody [four lines, three defensive pairs]. We’re working hard, we’re battling hard, and we’re finding ways to win hockey games; that’s what we have to do every night … I thought the game in Carolina was one of our best games of the season. We came out right from the start, and we were skating and hustling and playing the system well and playing it hard.”

Forslund queried Francis about sitting out players as healthy scratches, including rookie Shane Wright and veterans Oliver Bjorkstrand and Andre Burakovsky: “We’ve had to do that a few times this year. It’s not something you like to do, but accountability is a big part of a successful hockey team and knowing that your teammates can count on you is important to having a winning team, and that’s what we’re trying to establish here.”

Two: Getting Back in the Win Column, Part 2

Oliver Bjorkstrand and Ryker Evans teamed up for the Kraken’s lone goal Thursday night, with “The Maestro” sending a crisp pass to Evans, whose second-lunge after speeding to open ice toward the back-door side of the net cut the third-period deficit to one goal with ample time remaining to notch a tying goal. Both players talked to the media post-game, focusing on getting better as a team rather than re-living the goal.

“We had a push in the third [period],” said Bjorkstrand, “ideally, we come out strong in the first to dictate the game a little bit more. We didn’t look too good in the first and even the second period. “We’ve got to find a way to be better, to find a way to create positivity in our game, and find a way to get pucks behind [opponents in the offensive zone].”

Getting pucks deep in the Vegas zone will be a vital objective on Saturday. When interviewed by KHN personality Piper Show during Thursday’s first intermission, alternate captain Yanni Gourde was direct in saying playing fast – the style urged by the coaching staff – is an absolute must in every game: “We need to put [the puck] deep and go to work. We have to trust our structure.”

“When you’re down like this, it’ll come,” said Evans, who now has four goals on the season and no question has an offensive upside (he and Matty Beneirs both have 17 points, fifth highest amount among the Kraken). “We just need to focus on the details and execute. Everything should kind of fall into place … we’ve got great goal scorers on this team.”

Three: Know the Foe: Vegas Has Won Six of Last Seven Games

Division rival Vegas will be a challenging test for the Kraken’s attempt to end a three-game losing streak. VGK has the best winning percentage in the Western Conference at .703, with a 21-8-3 record and a home record of 12-3-0. Veteran forward Ivan Barbashev leads the home squad in goals with 15 goals, just four behind his total over 82 games last year. He’s on pace to put his career-high of 28 goals with St. Louis in 2021-22 in the distant rear-view mirror. Jack Eichel continues to make Vegas look smart acquiring him; he has 42 points to date, including 33 assists.