If Seattle has a shot at winning this week, surprisingly, it lies in large part in the hands of Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson.

In his short three-year career in the N.F.L., the all-pro back has coughed up the ball 17 times.  Eleven of them weren’t recovered by the Vikings.

That’s music to the ears of Seattle’s middle linebacker David Hawthorne.

Since assuming the starting role after Lofa Tatupu tore a pectoral muscle earlier this season, David “The Heater” Hawthorne has lit up opposing offensive skill players.

He leads the team in not only solo and total tackles, but also tackles for loss, in addition to being tied for the lead in forced fumbles.

Last week, Adrian Peterson had two fumbles and lost both to the lowly Detroit Lions, one of which came in the open field.

But, with the good news about Peterson, comes the bad.

This year, he ranks third in the league in rushing yards (917), second in yards per game (101.9) and is second in rushing touchdowns (11).

Peterson also just recently tied the record for fastest to player to reach 4000 career rushing yards.  It took him just 39 games.

If Seattle can eliminate or at least limit Peterson’s production Sunday, it will go a long way toward getting the Seahawks a much-needed win, but they still would have to worry about Brett Favre and one of the league’s top receiving options, Sidney Rice.

Although Rice isn’t a speedster like some of his top-tier counterparts in the league, he’s been able to carve up secondaries with relative ease en route to hauling in 27 balls for 553 yards over the past four games.

Recently Rice told the Minnesota Star Tribune that making the big plays that require him fighting for position in order to go up top to nab passes out of the air over defensive backs is much like boxing out for a rebound in basketball.

The comparison shouldn’t come as any surprise, as Rice was the 2002-2003 South Carolina Class 4A Player of the Year in basketball.

Despite the success and the ongoing chemistry development between Brett Favre and Rice, a more one-sided offensive attack by the Vikings, due to the reduction of Adrian Peterson’s effectiveness, would prove to be far more favorable for the Seahawks because the team’s secondary is starting to come around thanks in large part to the return of cornerback Marcus Trufant.

Unfortunately, even if Seattle is able to turn the Vikings into more of a one-dimensional offense, the Vikings are just too good and have too many weapons both defensively and on special teams to not win at home.

Minnesota 35, Seattle 14.