NFL Week 9 picks and predictions: Vikings vs. Seahawks

The Seattle Seahawks host the Minnesota Vikings this weekend in a game between two teams still very much in the NFC playoff discussion midway through the season.

The Seahawks (4-4) sit in third place in the NFC West due to boasting a worse divisional record than the 4-4 Arizona Cardinals. The Vikings, meanwhile, are in second place in the NFC North behind the 6-1 Chicago Bears.

Despite coming off two straight losses, most experts still believe the Seahawks will walk away with a victory Sunday. The writers at Yahoo Sports -- Les Carpenter, Jason Cole and Mike Silver -- are unanimous in their decision and all picked Seattle to beat Minnesota. The analysts at ESPN are equally lopsided, with 11 of 12 picking the Seahawks. The only talking head to pick Minnesota was Mike Ditka.

Lastly, over at Sports Illustrated, Peter King predicts a 26-23 Seahawks victory.

"At some point, though I expect Percy Harvin to line up all over the map for the Vikings Sunday, he's going to be face-up with Richard "I Harangued Tom Brady And Lived To Tweet About It" Sherman, and I can't wait to see the matchup," King wrote. "This is the toughest game of the week to pick, because Adrian Peterson (with his 276 yards the last two weeks) is absolutely back to normal. But I'll take Russell Wilson over Christian Ponder in the fourth-quarter play-making category."

NFL Week 10 Watchability Index (via sbnation)