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We are rapidly approaching the start of the second game of the preseason for the Minnesota Vikings, as they make their return to U.S. Bank Stadium for this contest. They’ll be hosting one of their more familiar non-division foes in the Seattle Seahawks, with both teams likely to give their starters a lot more action than they saw in their respective preseason openers.
The Vikings opened the preseason nine days ago with a 34-25 victory over the New Orleans Saints, while the Seahawks opened the preseason the day before the Vikings did, defeating the Denver Broncos in Seattle by a score of 22-14.
Once again, we will have an Open Thread for each half of this game, so now that we’re less than an hour away from kickoff, let’s hammer out some of the particulars.
Time: Sunday, 18 August, 2019, 7:00 PM Central
Location: U.S. Bank Stadium, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Television Coverage: FOX affiliates from coast to coast and border to border, and likely beyond
Radio Coverage: You can check out the Vikings Radio Network, or Channel 81 on either Sirius or XM Satellite Radio (or Channel 819 if you’re using the SiriusXM app)
Line: Look, we’ve talked about this. Stop betting on preseason football.
Prediction: In the words of latter-day American philosopher Dwayne Johnson, IT DOESN’T MATTER WHAT YOUR PREDICTION IS!
Three keys
1) No significant injuries - The Vikings made it through the preseason opener without adding any significant names to their list of walking wounded. This is the one trend, above all others, that we need to see continue.
2) More competition for WR3? - Chad Beebe seems to be one of the leaders in the battle for the third receiver spot (despite no catches in the first game), and rookie Bisi Johnson certainly made his case when he got the opportunity. Is anyone else going to step up and challenge either of them for that spot on the depth chart?
3) Can we kick it? - Since Dan Bailey was perfect on his extra point attempts in New Orleans, the Vikings dealt a fifth-round pick to the Baltimore Ravens for Kaare Vedvik, who’s here to do. . .something. We don’t know what, but he’s definitely here to do something. It will be interesting to see how Mike Zimmer divides up the kicking and punting opportunities this evening, and could give us some insight as to which direction the Vikings are going in on that front.
Know the Foe: Field Gulls
Twitter: @DailyNorseman
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Enjoy the first two quarters of action, ladies and gentlemen. We’ll get the second half thread up here for you during halftime, so keep your eyes open for it.
SKOLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL VIKINGS!!!!