EAGAN, Minn. — The Vikings will play their third preseason game Friday night at 7 p.m. (CT) at U.S. Bank Stadium against the Seahawks, who happen to be Minnesota's Week 14 opponent on ESPN's Monday Night Football.
While teams who play in the regular season don't often meet in the preseason, it does happen from time to time. This is the third consecutive year Minnesota and Seattle have met in exhibition play, with the previous two meetings occurring in Seattle.
The Vikings have split their first two preseason contests of 2018. Minnesota went on the road and earned a 42-28 win in Denver, but fell 14-10 at home to the Jaguars on Saturday.
The Seahawks have lost their first two preseason games. Seattle fell 19-17 at home to Indianapolis in Week 1 before losing 24-14 on the road against the Chargers on Saturday.
The Vikings will finish up the preseason slate at Tennessee on Aug. 30.
Here's a look at Minnesota's home preseason tilt against Seattle:
Passing: Quarterback Kirk Cousins and the Vikings offense struggled to get going Saturday against the Jaguars. Cousins completed three of eight passes for 12 yards and was sacked once for an 11-yard loss.
After the game, Cousins said he looked forward to growing and learning from his performance. He was spot on in Minnesota's preseason opener, completing all four passes for 42 yards and a touchdown.
Cousins and the Vikings offense will likely get extended work against Seattle and could play into the third quarter.
Trevor Siemian completed five of 10 passes for 46 yards and was sacked once, while Kyle Sloter completed 10 of 15 passes for 82 yards.
Russell Wilson has been Seattle's starter for the past six seasons, and has a record of 65-30-1. He has completed 17 of 26 passes for 236 yards and a touchdown in two preseason contests.
Austin Davis is Seattle's backup. Alex McGough, a 2018 seventh-round pick, is also on the roster.
Rushing: Dalvin Cook sat out for the second straight preseason contest while Latavius Murray had 12 yards on six carries.
Rookie Mike Boone was the star of Saturday's game, rushing for 91 yards on 13 carries along with a 1-yard touchdown run. Roc Thomas had five carries for 25 yards.
Seattle's first-round pick, running back Rashaad Penny, is out with a finger injury. Chris Carson, Mike Davis and C.J. Prosise are all in the Seahawks running backs room.
Receiving: Wide receiver Laquon Treadwell had two catches for eight yards, and fullback C.J. Ham had one reception for four yards for the first-team offense in Saturday's game against the Jaguars.
Stefon Diggs, Adam Thielen and Kyle Rudolph were each targeted once but did not have a catch.
Cayleb Jones led the Vikings with 23 receiving yards on two catche. Jake Wieneke had three catches for 21 yards. Chad Beebe had a 14-yard reception. Jeff Badet and Tavarres King each had one catch for 13 yards.
Doug Baldwin, Brandon Marshall and Tyler Lockett are Seattle's top receivers.
Jaron Brown and David Moore each had two receptions for 70-plus yards in Seattle's most recent preseason game.
Defense: Minnesota's first-team defense played well against Jacksonville, minus a few screen passes to Jaguars running backs.
All-Pro safety Harrison Smith had an interception, and defensive end Danielle Hunter had an impressive sack of Jaguars quarterback Blake Bortles.
The Vikings second-team defense was also strong, primarily in the pass rush. Ifeadi Odenigbo had a pair of sacks. Eric Wilson and Anthony Harris each had one. Stephen Weatherly and Ben Gedeon split a sack.
Wilson and Jaleel Johnson each forced a fumble in the game. Both of Jacksonville's touchdowns were on 1-yard touchdown runs.
Seattle's defense looks a bit different than in recent years. Cornerback Richard Sherman is now in San Francisco, safety Earl Thomas did not report to training camp and safety Kam Chancellor is on the Reserve/Physcially Unable to Perform list.
The defense is still led by linebacker Bobby Wagner, who is a three-time All-Pro and four-time Pro Bowl selection.
The Seahawks finished in the top half of the league in points and yards allowed in 2017.
Special Teams: The Vikings released kicker Kai Forbath on Monday, awarding the job to rookie Daniel Carlson.
Forbath made one of two field goal attempts against the Jaguars. Carlson handled kickoffs and made an extra point. Carlson has made both field goal tries in the preseason.
Kickers Sebastian Janikowski and Jason Meyers are dueling it out for Seattle, and each made a field goal attempt in Week 2 of the preseason.
Vikings punter Ryan Quigley averaged 45.1 yards on seven punts, but the coverage unit struggled again. A week after giving up a punt return for a touchdown in Denver, the Vikings allowed a 56-yard return against Jacksonville that set up the Jaguars for the eventual game-winning touchdown.
Mike Hughes had two kickoff returns for 53 total yards, and also a punt return for seven yards. Marcus Sherels and Chad Beebe both had two punt returns Saturday, with each having a long of 10 yards.
Over The Years
The Vikings are 5-10 all-time against Seattle in 14 regular-season games and one playoff matchup.
Seattle has had the upper hand of late, defeating Minnesota in each of the past four meetings.
Last meeting: Seahawks 10, Vikings 9, Jan. 10, 2016, in Minneapolis
It was hard to tell which was more bitter on this Sunday afternoon in January — the weather or the ending.
The Vikings and Seahawks met on a historically cold day in the Wild Card Round of the NFL playoffs. The temperature was minus-6 degrees Fahrenheit at kickoff with a wind chill of minus-25 degrees, making it the third-coldest game in league history.
Minnesota built a 9-0 lead on three field goals in the first three quarters.
Seattle, however, rallied with a touchdown and field goal in less than four minutes in the fourth quarter.
A late rally by the Vikings was undone when a last-minute field goal try went wide left.
