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NFC Wild Card Betting Preview: Minnesota Vikings at New Orleans Saints

In a rematch of the playoff game that ended with the “Minneapolis Miracle” two seasons ago, the Minnesota Vikings will take on the New Orleans Saints in the Wild Card round of the NFC playoffs on Sunday. At home, the Saints are listed as 7.5-point favorites, with an over/under of 48.5 points.

The Saints could not be more pleased with how they’ve played late in the season, winning three straight games by 10 points or more. New Orleans has also won six of its last seven games, losing only a tight game to San Francisco during that stretch. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to give the 13-3 Saints a first-round bye, meaning it’ll take three wins to get them to the Super Bowl.

Meanwhile, the Vikings enter the playoffs after losing back-to-back games to close out the regular season. In its defense, Minnesota rested a lot of key players in Week 17 and still only lost by a couple of points. However, the Vikings were abysmal in Week 16 against the Packers, so it’s been a few weeks since they resembled a 10-win, playoff-caliber team.

Who’s Healthy?

For the Vikings, health could be a huge factor in whether or not they have a chance to knock off the Saints. Running backs Dalvin Cook and Alexander Mattison have sat out the last two weeks due to injuries, and it’s no coincidence that the Vikings have struggled without them.

Both are trending in the right direction and will likely be active on Sunday. However, it’s unclear how close to 100 percent either will be and how much rust they’ll need to shake off after missing two games.

Minnesota’s offense has been dependent all season on establishing the running game. Despite impressive numbers from Kirk Cousins, the more the Vikings can take the ball out of the hands of their quarterback, the better off they are.

Adam Thielen is yet to get going since returning from an injury in mid-December, so the tandem of Thielen and Stefon Diggs isn’t as lethal these days. If the Vikings can’t force the Saints to respect their rushing attack, Cousins could struggle to push the ball down the field.

Reaching the Peak

Despite coming up a little short of 3,000 yards on the season, the Saints couldn’t have asked for much more from Drew Brees. Despite missing several games with a thumb injury, Brees has amassed 27 touchdown passes to just four interceptions.

He’s also saved his best for last, throwing 15 touchdown passes with no interceptions during the month of December, completing over 75 percent of his passes during that span.

While the Minnesota defense is tough, it has to worry about more than just Brees. New Orleans boasts the league’s best wide receiver in Michael Thomas and a tight end in Jared Cook who’s playing at a high level late in the year. Even an average rushing attack has a high upside if the Saints can get Alvin Kamara going.

Fly Away

The Vikings are surely better than the team they’ve been the last two weeks. But that doesn’t mean they can measure up to New Orleans. The Saints are peaking at the right time and look almost unstoppable these days. Bet on the Saints covering the 7.5-point spread against the Vikings on Sunday.

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