NFL Betting Preview: New York Giants at Minnesota Vikings

Added on Dec 08, 2010 by Jack Thurman in

NFL

The Minnesota Vikings will look to stay perfect under interim head coach Leslie Frazier as they host the New York Giants at Mall of America Field this Sunday. The Vikings have been one of the major disappointments of the NFL season, which eventually led to the ouster of head coach Brad Childress. They’ll face a talented but somewhat erratic New York Giants team that is currently in a tie for first place in the NFC East with the Philadelphia Eagles with both teams holding an 8-4 record.

New York Giants at Minnesota Vikings
December 12, 2010 10:00 AM Pacific

As is usually the case, the big storyline in this game is focused on the NFL’s resident ‘drama diva’ Brett Favre. Favre is stubbornly trying to keep his consecutive games streak alive despite a variety of ailments and generally ineffective play. His latest injury may be the most serious he’s dealt with so far since it affects his throwing arm—a MRI on Tuesday confirmed that ‘The Gunslinger’ has a sprained sternoclavicular joint. Officially, he’s listed as ‘questionable’ but we all know how this works with Favre. Interim coach Frazier—who may be even less likely to make the call to sit Favre than Childress due to the ‘interim’ before his title—has said that if his quarterback is healthy he’ll play. Favre will most likely insist he’s healthy enough to start (and thus keep his streak alive) but it’s difficult to see him being remotely effective and particularly against a fierce Giants’ pass rush. The latest word is that Favre will attempt to practice on Thursday so an updated status may be available after that.

Whichever quarterback the Vikings start it doesn’t change our handicap of this game. Minnesota may attract some public action based on the coaching change, but it’s important to keep their two game winning streak in perspective—the victories came against Buffalo and Washington who have a combined record of 7-17. Percy Harvin missed the last game with his recurring migraine issue and he’s listed as ‘questionable’ for this contest. Against a tougher opponent we expect the Vikings to look more like the 4-8 ATS team that they really are.

The Giants aren’t really getting the respect they deserve—this could be due to the ‘public’ love for the Philadelphia Eagles but for whatever reason they’re a seriously undervalued side. New York has the #2 total defense and the #3 total offense and they’ve been money in the bank on the road in recent years, currently on a 21-8 ATS run away from the Meadowlands. Hard to handicap a total with so many questions surrounding the Vikings offense, but we like the Giants to win this game by double digits which will easily cover the spread.

Bet New York Giants -2 over Minnesota Vikings