(TLDR; There are a lot of narrative elements in play that suggest Seattle will win convincingly, but we all know that week-by-week results can vary heavily, and that extreme weather can make that variance even more severe)

In the end the following things are all true:

• Seattle's been a very successful team for 4 straight years. They perform in the playoffs, and they perform in the national spotlight. They're very rarely, if ever, caught unprepared.

• Minnesota is at the very start of a surge behind a good-looking defense and an offense that bears a lot of resemblance to Seattle's in 2012. (Haaaay!)

• Minnesota won the NFC North against a depleted and mentally struggling Packers squad, and this makes it hard to triangulate just how good they are. They're good, but how good? Too many variables are in play right now.

• Seattle's offense has been surging to historic levels in the last few months and this is exactly the kind of game they historically steamroll over.

None of these things mean Seattle has won the game yet, but it's easy to fall into the trap that because it looks so one-sided, that the Seattle or Minnesota sides likewise must feel the same. Obviously this isn't the case. You don't get to the playoffs by buying into narrative logic. There are simply too many times where you have to fight the perception of negative momentum to achieve that level of success.

So as one-sided as all the factors might make this game seem, I think it's going to be exciting, and as a Seattle fan I think even if we get blown out early we still (always) have a chance to come back. I'm very eagerly looking forward to this game.