NFL Wild Card: New York Giants vs. Minnesota Vikings Betting Preview
NFL Wild Card weekend continues Sunday afternoon with an NFC showdown as the New York Giants (9-7-1) take on the Minnesota Vikings (13-4). The Vikings will host this one at U.S. Bank Stadium, with kickoff scheduled for 4:30 pm ET.
This will be the second time these two teams have matched up in the last four weeks. Back on Christmas Eve, the Vikings won at home 27-24 over New York.
In the win, Kirk Cousins threw for 299 yards and three touchdowns, including two to T.J. Hockenson. Both Hockenson (109 yards, two touchdowns) and Justin Jefferson (133 yards, one touchdown) had big games for Minnesota.
For the Giants, Daniel Jones threw for 334 yards, a touchdown, and an interception. Unfortunately for New York fans, it still wasn’t enough as the Giants were unable to take down Minnesota on the road.
The Vikings come in as the favorite playing at home Sunday. They are -158 to win, while the Giants’ moneyline sits at +132. The spread features the Giants as 3-point underdogs (-114), and the over/under for total points is 48.5.
Giants Looking For Better Outcome In Minneapolis
After losing a close one in Minneapolis just a handful of weeks ago, head coach Brian Daboll and the New York Giants are looking for a better outcome Sunday when it matters most.
During the regular season, the Giants went just 4-4 on the road, and they will look to push that road record above .500 in this one.
Leading an offense that ranked 15th in scoring this season (21.5 points per game) is quarterback Daniel Jones.
The 25-year-old quarterback threw for 3,205 yards, 15 touchdowns, and five interceptions in 16 games this season.
Jones was arguably more lethal with his feet. He was the second-leading rusher for New York, rushing for 708 yards and seven touchdowns on the season.
Superstar Saquon Barkley is arguably New York’s best threat on offense. He rushed 295 times this season for 1,312 yards and 10 touchdowns. He also had 57 receptions for 338 yards.
On defense, the Giants rank 17th overall, allowing opponents an average of 21.8 points per game.
Vikings Need To Get Off To A Quick Start
It was quite an unusual season for the Vikings. In 11 of their 13 wins, they only won by eight points or less. In all four of their losses, they lost by double digits. With such a Jekyll and Hyde season, the Vikings desperately need to get off to a good start in this one.
Where they will most need to pick it up is on the defensive side. Despite their strong record, the defense ranked just 28th in the NFL, allowing a whopping 25.1 points per game.
Luckily, the offense bailed the defense out on multiple occasions. As a unit, the Vikings rank eighth in scoring, averaging 24.9 points per game (27 at home).
Veteran Kirk Cousins leads the Vikings’ offense. He threw for 4,547 yards, 29 touchdowns, and 14 interceptions during the regular season. Cousins’ favorite target is Justin Jefferson, who finished with 1,809 yards receiving and eight scores.
On the ground, Dalvin Cook leads the way with 1,173 yards rushing and eight touchdowns.
Take New York And The Points
Given their inconsistent play on defense, the Vikings are a hard team to bet on. As previously mentioned, even with double-digit wins, most of those were interesting all the way down to the wire.
The Giants obviously have their inconsistencies too, but Saquon Barkley and Daniel Jones could both very well torch the Vikings’ defense with their legs.
Of all the NFL games this weekend, this might be the one that could most likely see an upset. It remains to be seen whether the Giants can pull off the underdog victory, but there is a lot of value in taking them and the three points (-114) Sunday afternoon.
