The Minnesota Vikings'and the Seattle Seahawks look to follow up their 2022 success in their first game since exiting the playoffs when they meet Thursday for Week 1 NFL Preseason action. Kickoff from Lumen Field is at 10 p.m. ET (NFL Network). Below, we analyze BetMGM Sportsbook’s lines around the Vikings vs. Seahawks odds, and'make our expert NFL picks and predictions.
With the reduction down to just 3 preseason games, most teams won’t play many (if any) of their key starters during the entirety of the preseason — much less the first game.
The Vikings and head coach Kevin O’Connell have a short track record of using the preseason to find out which players are competing for back-end roster spots. While some coaches want to build momentum and keep guys who have roster spots locked down on the field a lot, O’Connell showed in his first season as the boss that he had no interest in needlessly endangering his starters. None of his key veteran players took a single snap in the preseason in 2022 and it was reflected in a 0-3 record.
Seattle hasn’t fared much better, going 1-5 over the two years with three preseason games. However, veteran coach Pete Carroll has made it more of a point to get his starters some live snaps during the preseason, and that may be why the Seahawks are prohibitive preseason favorites.