3 bold predictions for the Vikings vs. Seahawks in Week 16

The Minnesota Vikings' surprising season got even better this past week.

First, on Sunday afternoon, the Detroit Lions finally lost their second game of the season, falling to 12-2 with a 48-42 defeat at the hands of the Buffalo Bills, thus matching Minnesota in the loss column.

Then, with the Seattle Seahawks taking a 30-13 loss to the Green Bay Packers on Sunday Night Football, the Vikings officially clinched a spot in the NFL Playoffs for the second time in three seasons.

And on Monday night, knowing that a win over the Chicago Bears would give them control of their own destiny in the NFC North race, Minnesota took care of business and upped its winning streak to seven with a dominant 30-12 victory.

In matching the Lions at 12-2 with the win over Chicago, the path to a division title is as simple as can be for the Vikings. If they win out, which would have to include a Week 17 win over the Packers and a Week 18 win over Detroit, the NFC North — and perhaps the No. 1 seed in the conference — is theirs.

Before those divisional battles, though, Minnesota must first travel to the Pacific Northwest for its first road game in nearly a month and hope to hand Seattle a second straight loss.

Here are a few predictions for the Vikings heading into their Week 16 matchup with the Seahawks.

Aaron Jones will hit the 100-yard rushing mark for just the third time this season

The Seattle defense has struggled at times this season against the run, allowing 127.5 rushing yards per game, the 11th-most in the league.

This past Sunday night, the Packers attacked the Seahawks on the ground early, feeding Josh Jacobs on nine of 10 plays on their opening drive, the last of which resulted in a 1-yard touchdown. Green Bay took to the air a bit more as the game progressed, but Jacobs still ended the night with 94 rushing yards on 26 carries.

We're calling for a similar performance from Aaron Jones this Sunday, although we'll take it a touch further and predict that he'll hit the 100-yard mark on the ground for just the third time this season.

Jones has had solid outings the last two weeks, rushing for 73 yards against the Atlanta Falcons and 86 yards against the Bears, scoring a touchdown in each game. So, we'll go ahead and a third consecutive week with a score to the docket as well.

Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison will have at least one touchdown each

Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison have been on an absolute roll as of late and are rapidly becoming one of the top wide receivers duos in the NFL.

Over the past two weeks, the two have combined for 29 catches for 401 yards with six touchdowns. It likely would've been seven scores had Jefferson not logged an uncharacteristic drop near the goal line against Chicago on Monday night, but nobody's perfect, not even No. 18.

Nevertheless, with Sam Darnold being completely dialed in right now, we're seeing more big numbers for both Jefferson and Addison against Seattle. While each might not hit the 100-yard mark, we'll call for both to find the end zone at least once.

The Vikings defense will add at least two picks to its league-leading interception total

lt's no secret that Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith won't be coming into this matchup at 100% after suffering a knee injury against Green Bay.

And there's a chance that he may not even go at all if he's not feeling comfortable during pregame warmups, at which point Sam Howell would take over, as he did against the Packers.

But regardless of who's under center, the Vikings' defensive front will undoubtedly create pressure, which will force either Smith or Howell into some forced throws. As such, we're calling for Minnesota to add at least two interceptions to its league-leading total, which currently stands at 20, which is nine more than they had all of last season.