New York Giants vs Minnesota Vikings Pick and Preview
NFC Wild Card Matchup
Point Spread: Giants +3.0 | Total Points: 48.0
Coming into this week’s NFC Wild Card matchup vs the Vikings, the Giants have an above .500 record at 9-7-1. This week, the Giants will look to get back on track, as they lost to the Philadelphia Eagles in an NFC matchup by a score 22-16. Even though New York lost the game, they were able to keep things closer than expected, as they were 16.5-point underdogs. The two teams combined point total of 38 remained below the betting line of 42.
Leading into their Wild Card matchup against New York, the Vikings have an overall record of 13-4. This week, the Vikings will look to keep things rolling after picking up a 29-13 win over their division rival, the Chicago Bears. Not only did Minnesota walk away with the win, but they also covered the spread as -6.5 point favorites.
Giants vs Vikings History
In the previous matchup between the two teams, the Vikings came out on top by a score of 27-24. This matchup took place back in week 16. Although the Vikings won straight up, the Giants came away with the ATS win. Going into the matchup, Minnesota was favored to win by 4.5. The over-under betting line going into the game was set at 48.0 points. The two teams combined to surpass this figure with a total of 51.
In the last 3 games between New York and Minnesota, the Vikings have dominated the series, going 3-0. This includes a convincing margin of victory of 12 points per contest. Across the last 3 head-to-head matchups, Minnesota is averaging 26 points compared to New York at 14. The last 3 times that the Vikings have hosted New York, they have a record of 2-1. In terms of betting, Minnesota holds a recent edge vs the spread, going 3-2 in the previous 5 meetings. These games have finished with an average point total of 43, leading to an over-under mark of 2-3.
Keys To Victory: New York Giants
As the Giants prepare for this week’s game, they will look for a strong offensive performance from a unit that is averaging 21.5 points per game. In this week’s matchup, look for the Giants’ offense to attack the Vikings’ secondary, as the unit has had its problems defending the pass. For the season, New York is averaging 185.7 yards per contest through the air. New York quarterback Daniel Jones comes into this week’s game with an excellent matchup vs a Minnesota defense, allowing an average of 265.6 yards per game through the air. So far, Jones has thrown for 3205 yards on a passer rating of 92.5. Going into the game, the team’s leader in receiving yards is Darius Slayton, who has caught 64.8% of the balls thrown his way for a total of 724 yards.
On the ground, the Giants should be able to put in yet another strong performance, as they are currently the 4th ranked team in rush yards per game and face off vs a defense that is vulnerable up front. So far, the team’s leading rusher is Saquon Barkley, who is averaging 4.4 yards per attempt. Through 16 games, he has rushed for a total of 1312 yards on the ground.
Keys To Victory: Minnesota Vikings
Minnesota enters this week’s action averaging 24.9 points per game, placing them 8th in the NFL. Quarterback Kirk Cousins has thrown for 4547 yards, with the team ranking 6th in yards per game through the air. This below-average production has come despite the team averaging 39.5 passing attempts (3rd). The team’s top receiver Justin Jefferson has caught 69.6% of the passes thrown his way and has accumulated 1809 receiving yards.
A key to the Vikings’ chances in the game is if they will be able to put together a stronger effort on the ground. So far, Minnesota is averaging just 97.7 yards per game on the ground.
Betting Trends
- New York is 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games on the road.
- New York is 2-2-1 ATS in their last 5 games at home.
- New York is 8-2 ATS in their last 10 games as the underdog.
- New York is 5-4-1 ATS in their last 10 games as the favorite.
Prediction
This NFC matchup has one of the highest totals of the week. It should be an exciting game, one that will come down to the wire. We like the Vikings to win but the Giants to cover in our NFL Picks.
