The Seattle Seahawks have an absolutely critical game lined up against the Minnesota Vikings on Monday Night Football.
If Seattle wins, they will not only move to 10-2 on the season – but they will hold possession of first place in the NFC West and a potential bye week in the playoffs.
Should they lose, they would fall all the way to sixth place in the NFC, barely clinging to a playoff spot with just four games remaining.
So you don’t need me to tell you how important this game is for the rest of Seattle’s – and Minnesota’s – season.
However, outside of the actual implications of a win/loss, there are a handful of other key storylines for fans – and fantasy football owners – to pay attention to on Monday night.
Chris Carson or Rashaad Penny?
After spending the entire season as the undisputed bell-cow of Seattle’s backfield, running back Chris Carson was nearly outsnapped by Rashaad Penny (31-30) last week against the Eagles, and Penny also earned 14 carries to Carson’s eight.
Fumbling issues have hampered Carson’s otherwise strong season, and the surprise emergence of Penny last week (career-high 129 yards on the ground and a touchdown) could make Monday’s game another split between the two.
That’s great news for the Seahawks, who love being able to attack teams with two running backs with very different styles. It creates problems for the opposing team as they attempt to gameplan, and it allows the two backs to stay fresher throughout the game – a big bonus if the team is up late in the game and wants to run to burn clock.
It’s not as good news for fantasy owners, as it is unclear if either of them will see enough action to merit consideration in most fantasy leagues.
Will Akeem King play a lot in nickel?
The Seahawks released veteran nickel corner Jamar Taylor last week, a clear sign to most that rookie Ugo Amadi was ready to take over for the rest of the season.
However, against the Eagles in Week 12, veteran Akeem King saw all of Seattle’s nickelback snaps, thanks in part to Philadelphia’s frequent usage of two-tight end sets. Coach Pete Carroll prefers the bigger, more physical King when going against bigger opponents, and that made him the preferred option against an Eagles squad that was without Jordan Mathews, Nelson Agholor and Alshon Jeffery.
A similar situation likely awaits Seattle on Monday, with the Vikings and their two tight ends, Kyle Rudolph and Irv Smith, Jr, rolling into town.
The Vikings are without receiver Adam Thielen, making it likely they’ll rely on their two tight ends more than usual.
As such, fans who are eagerly awaiting more time on the defensive side of the ball by Amadi will probably have to wait at least another week to see him in action.
Will Tyler Lockett return kicks or punts?
Last week, a not-quite healthy Tyler Lockett only hauled in one reception and was not seen in his usual duties as the team’s primary kick and punt returner.
Lockett is back to 100 percent now, however, he still may cede some return duties to David Moore and Travis Homer – who filled him for him as punt and kick returners, respectively, and earned the praise of coach Carroll.
“That was a really challenging situation with the way the wind was swirling down there, David [Moore] handled those punts beautifully,” Carroll commented. “He made it look easy. Totally comfortable, people around him, the decision making, all of that. We trust David from where we’ve seen him before, but that was his best performance to secure it. It just gives us more depth. The competition is on for who is going to go next week.”
“The other side of it is we saw [Travis] Homer, we’ve been grooming Homer for some time now,” Carroll continued. “We’ve been really wanting him to take this spot for us and be a kickoff return guy. He got one good shot, and he just roared it up in there just like you like to see. I like the fact that he’s a running back and he has all of the skills and training to take care of the football and all that, and he really hits it. He had a 29-yard return and smoked it up in there really nice. Both of those guys made a great first impression in their first chance of really starting with the pressure on them.”
The Seahawks made it clear during the offseason they wanted to eventually transition Lockett away from return duties, allowing him to focus on his increased role in the offense, and now may finally be the opportunity the team was looking for to do exactly that.
