EAGAN, Minn. — The 2024 Vikings (12-2) already have reached rare air for regular-season results in franchise history, becoming the sixth squad all-time to win 12 or more of the first 14 games of a season.

As they gear up for a long trip to the Pacific Northwest and face the Seahawks (8-6) on shortened rest, Head Coach Kevin O'Connell is keeping in mind the long haul with hopes of a deep postseason run and expecting a strong challenge from a Seattle squad that has playoff aspirations.

Minnesota is already sure of heading to the postseason, but the Vikings can still win the No. 1 seed in the NFC North, which would come with the spoils of a first-round bye and home-field advantage.

The desire to secure that reward is offset by the need to be as fresh as possible when the stakes are win or go home.

"It's probably the hardest thing to do, especially when you're tied for the best record in the conference," O'Connell said of striking that balance. "You're trying to see if you can take this thing to a place where you could possibly get that 1 seed. It's going to be very competitive.

"At the same time, you've got to pick your spots," he continued. "I thought we had a great padded Wednesday practice last week, which I think led into our defensive performance because we were physical, we were flying around, but then we took the tempo down on Thursday and let them turn over. … Now it's a totally different week, different preparation, and these guys have to feel that they're getting the same amount of preparation, even though we've got really two less days when you think about it."

O'Connell and others can lean on their experiences with the 2021 Rams, who fell to 7-4 after going 0-3 in November but rallied to a 12-5 finish that was good enough to claim a competitive NFC Wets that sent three teams to the postseason (Arizona was the first Wild Card at 11-6; San Francisco was the second at 10-7), which sounds much like the current NFC North, which features three of the NFL's seven 10-win teams entering Week 16.

He also noted the deep playoff runs that Defensive Coordinator Brian Flores experienced while with New England. He was part of Patriots teams that won Super Bowls XXXIX, XLIX, LI and LIII.

"Whatever we can do to get our team ready to roll tactically, but also physically for 60 minutes every week is what we're going to do," O'Connell said. "There's no perfect way to do it. A lot of communication with the players on a 1-on-1 level, group level, team level, me laying out the expectations of the week. Then like these guys have always done, they meet those, and then some."

Here are all the ways to catch the Week 16 action.

BROADCAST TV

FOX (KMSP FOX 9 in the Twin Cities)

Kickoff: 3:05 p.m. (CT)

Play-by-Play: Adam Amin

Analyst: Mark Sanchez

Sideline reporter: Kristina Pink

Fans who live in the green areas shown on the map from 506sports.com will be able to watch the game on broadcast TV.

LOCAL/REGIONAL RADIO

KFAN (100.3-FM), KTLK 1130-AM and the five-state Vikings Radio Network

Play-by-Play: Paul Allen

Analyst: Pete Bercich

Sideline reporter: Ben Leber

Note: The pregame radio show on the Vikings Radio Network will begin at 1 p.m. (CT).

Audio Streaming Option: Catch the audio broadcast on your smart devices through the KFAN channel on the iHeart app.

SPANISH RADIO

Catch the Vikings on Tico Sports at WREY "El Rey" 94.9 FM and 630 AM in the Twin Cities and on Tico-Sports.com, elrey949fm.com and Vikings.com.

Play-by-Play: Gabriel Rios

Analyst: Isaias Zendejas

NATIONAL RADIO

COMPASS MEDIA NETWORKS

Play-by-Play: Bill Rosinski

Analyst: Merril Hoge

SATELLITE RADIO

Minnesota: SiriusXM 138 or 381/Vikings Team Page

Seattle: SiriusXM 81 or 226/Seahawks Team Page

ADDITIONAL OPTIONS

Click here for the full bevy of options that include over-the-air, cable, satellite, over-the-top and streaming methods.

NFL+ AND NFL+ PREMIUM

Watch out-of-market Vikings preseason games live or on-demand with NFL+ or NFL+ Premium. It is available in the NFL app and at NFL.com/plus.

NFL+ is available for $6.99/month or $49.99/year and offers the following:

• Live out-of-market preseason games across devices
• Live local and prime-time regular-season and postseason games on your phone or tablet
• Live game audio (home, away & national calls) for every game of the season
• NFL Films on-demand content, ad-free
• Ad-free highlights from every NFL game
• Fantasy+
• NFL Network

NFL+ Premium is available for $14.99/month or $99.99/year and offers all NFL+ features and the following:

• Full-game replays across devices
• Condensed game replays across devices
• Coaches film
• RedZone from NFL Network