2016 NFL Preseason Minnesota vs Seattle Expert Picks

In a mini-rematch of last season’s playoff encounter where the Seahawks advanced to the divisional round after Minnesota kicker Blair Walsh missed a potential game-winning field goal in the final second of the game, the Minnesota Vikings will be locking horns against the Seattle Seahawks on Thursday night. Both teams looked solid in their respective Week 1 preseason games, with the Vikings recording a one-point road win over Cincinnati and Seattle also interestingly recording a one-point road victory of its own over Kansas City. What can we expect when these two football powerhouse collide on Thursday night at the CenturyLink Field? Read on as we provide an all-inclusive NFL betting odds breakdown of this mouthwatering clash.

2016 NFL Preseason Vikings vs Seahawks Expert Picks

Where: CenturyLink Field, Seattle When: Thursday, August 18, 2016 10:00 PM ET TV: NFL Network NFL Lines: Minnesota (+3), Seattle (-3), OVER/UNDER 38.5    

Why Bet on Minnesota

Like every team in the league, the Minnesota Vikings will be having a couple of position battles to solve in this game, including safety and right tackle. But given the magnitude of this game, you can expect the Vikings to put some big premium on coming out of Seattle with a win, at least for the sake of healing up the wounds of last year’s painful loss to Seattle. Fortunately for the Vikes, the starters looked good last week, led by QB Teddy Bridgewater’s 6-of-7, 92-yard, one-TD performance. The backups were not as good, but still played well, especially in the defense where they held Cincinnati scoreless in the first and fourth quarters of the game. This should motivate the team for a win when they antagonize the equally strong Seattle defensive-minded Seahawks this Thursday.

Why Bet on Seattle

Seahawks rookie QB Trevone Boykin had a couple of stutters in his game, but he did end up having the best night of all passers last week, as he posted a Week 1-high 188 passing yards to go along with a Hail Mary pass and a well-thought two-point conversion that helped Seattle to stun Kansas City in a thrilling 17-16 victory. After such a performance, you can expect the undrafted dual-threat rookie QB from TCU to get a lot attention when he most-likely takes to the field after Russell Wilson and his fellow starters do their thing in a series or two. Like Minnesota, the Seahawks also stayed true to their mean defensive reputation, which was compounded by crucially holding the Chiefs’ backups scoreless in the fourth quarter, giving the visitors a chance at the stunning come-from-behind victory. You can therefore expect a strong defensive showcase when Seattle’s defense clashes against Minny, as the Seahawks look to keep their solid home record in preseason games.

Expert Predictions and Picks

These two teams are nearly identical in strength with more-or-less the same playing styles, so it’s hard to pick between them, though the slight edge is obviously with the Seahawks because they have a good backup QB and very solid starters. That said, I really like Minnesota’s starters to put up some decent points early in the game and the backups to keep things close, so I expect the Vikings to at least get the points if they cannot pull through with an outright upset.

Final Score Prediction: Seattle 18, Minnesota 16

Best Pick: Minnesota (+3)