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Philadelphia Eagles vs. Minnesota Vikings NFL Betting Odds & Spreads

Written January 2, 2009 by Jason Lowry

Vikings Eagles Football

This Sunday the Minnesota Vikings and Philadelphia Eagles will do battle in the first round of the NFC playoffs. The Vikings wound up winning the NFC North after starting the season just 1-4, as Ryan Longwell nailed a 50 yard field goal with time expiring to give the Vikings a 20-19 win over the Giants. The Eagles needed a lot of things to go their way last week for them to make it into the playoffs, but things continued to fall into place, and all they had to do was beat the Cowboys at home and they were in, and they had no problem doing that, as they destroyed the Cowboys 44-6. For those of you looking to do a little NFL betting on the game this weekend, the oddsmakers have the Eagles 3 point favorites over the Vikings at Bookmaker.com.

Looking at the Eagles few thought that after they had span of 3 games where they lost to the Giants, tied the Bengals, and got embarrassed by Ravens, that this team had much of a chance at all of making the playoffs, but they went on to win 4 of the last 5, and most importantly after being benched in the 2nd half of the Ravens game, Donovan McNabb game back to finish the season strong, as McNabb finished the season with 3,916 yards, 23 touchdowns, and only 11 interceptions. McNabb doesn’t have the best receiving crew, and if it wasn’t for the play of rookie DeSean Jackson its hard telling where this team would of turned, cause starters Reggie Brown and Kevin Curtis have combined for just 51 catches for 3 scores. The key to this offense is running back Brian Westbrook, who is not only the teams leading rusher with 936 yards and 9 touchdowns, but was a force in the passing game hauling in 54 passes for 402 yards and 5 more scores.

The Eagles defense has really been clicking of late allowing just 10 points a game over their final 4 outings. The Eagles can really bring some pressure and they will likely try to do just that against the Vikings quarterback Tarvaris Jackson, who has never played in a playoff game. The main thing for this defense is finding a way to stop running back Adrian Peterson, who is at times all the Vikings have when it comes to moving the football. Bet Philadelphia Eagles -3 at Bookmaker.com.

The Minnesota Vikings have to play smart football in this one, and while we mentioned the presence of the leagues leading rusher Adrian Peterson, we didn’t bring up that Peterson has really had some troubles holding onto the football of late, and if he continues to put the ball on the ground it could be the reason this team goes one and done in the playoffs. We mentioned that Jackson will be the starter in this one, and while Jackson has found his way back into the starting role, he has really surprised everyone by throwing for 740 yards 8 touchdowns with just 1 interception in the final 4 games since taking over the job from Gus Frerotte. Bernard Berrian is the teams deep threat catching 48 balls for 964 yards and 2 scores, but the guy that has been red hot is tight end Visanthe Shiancoe who had a 2 touchdown performance and 136 yards receiving outburst against the Falcons just two weeks ago.

The Vikings defense is a force when it comes to stopping the run, as they are holding opponents to a league low 77 yards a game on the ground, but the Vikings could be missing both Pat Williams an Ray Edwards in this one, as both are fighting injuries. The Vikings still have plenty of solid playmakers on this unit including an emerging linebacker in 3rd year player Chad Greenway who had 115 tackles and 5.5 sacks this season. The Vikings also have Pro Bowl defensive end Jared Allen who started slow, but finished with 14.5 sacks and really brought some life to this unit. If they keep Westbrook in check and get pressure on McNabb you have to like the Vikings chances in this one. Bet Minnesota Vikings +3 at Bookmaker.com.

Lowry’s Lean on the Game: Vikings +3
I am going with the team with the best defense in this one, and for those of you that can remember just two weeks ago the Eagles were only able to score 3 points on the road against the Redskins. The Eagles are good on defense, but that doesn’t matter when you have Adrian Peterson running the football. Look for a Vikings win at home.

Predicted Score: Vikings 24 Eagles 23

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