History is on Seahawks’ side Sunday against Minnesota

Despite a number of problems the Seattle Seahawks carry into their matchup with the winless Minnesota Vikings, including and close out games offensively, there is one thing that is truly in their favor: history.

Since Pete Carroll became head coach of the Seahawks, his teams have gone 7-0 against Minnesota, including the playoffs. Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer, meanwhile, has yet to win against Seattle since getting the job in Minnesota, going 0-5.

We all remember last year’s heart-stopping Sunday Night Football matchup, where DK Metcalf’s 4th-down TD gave the Seahawks a 27-26 victory in the closing seconds. Perhaps the most memorable Seahawks-Vikings matchup of the Carroll era was the Seahawks’ 10-9 Wild Card playoff win in Minneapolis, where Blair Walsh shanked a chip shot to give Seattle a ticket to the Divisional Round.

But, the Seahawks have really blown out the Vikings more often than not during Carroll’s tenure, winning by double digits in four of the seven victories. My personal favorite was the Seahawks’ 38-7 drubbing of the Vikings in 2015, which was a crucial step towards turning the season around after a 2-4 start. This Sunday will mark Seattle’s first regular season trip to U.S. Bank Stadium, having last played them on the road in that playoff game at the home of University of Minnesota’s Golden Gophers.

Unfortunately, the game won’t be on Monday Night Football (Vikings QB Kirk Cousins is 1-9 in his career on Monday, with three of those losses coming against the ‘Hawks), but if the history of this matchup tells us anything, it’s that the ‘Hawks have a pretty good shot at winning Sunday.