Buccanneers Vikings Line

Written by Steve Janus

Week 2 NFL action has the Minnesota Vikings hosting the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Both teams will be looking to avoid starting the season 0-2 after failing to come away with a win in week 1. The Buccaneers lost 20-27 at home to the Detroit Lions, while the Vikings lost lost 17-24 on the road against the San Diego Chargers. Tampa Bay beat the Vikings 19-13 at home in 2008, it was their fourth straight win in the series.

Taking a look at the week 2 NFL odds, oddsmakers currently have Minnesota favored by 3-points over Tampa Bay with the total set at 40.5 points.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers:

The Buccaneers jumped out an early 10-3 lead thanks to a 28-yard interception return for a touchdown by corner Aqib Talib. Tampa Bay would then watch the Lions pile on 17 straight points to take a 20-10 lead. Tampa Bay would never come closer than a touchdown the rest of the way.

The Buccaneers only offensive touchdown came with 1:35 left in the 4th quarter, as Josh Freeman hit Mike Williams for a 5-yard score. Freeman would finish the game 28 of 43 for 259 yards, while Williams caught four passes for 50 yards. Tight end Kellen Winslow added six catches for 66 yards and Earnest Graham had a team-high eight receptions for 58 yards.

The big story offensively was the Buccaneers inability to run the football. Running back LaGarrette Blount was expected to have a huge season in 2011, but ended up carrying it just five times for 15 yards. Tampa Bay as a team had just 56 yards on 16 attempts. I expect Tampa Bay to put a little more focus on running the ball this week, but that might be tough to do. Minnesota held the Chargers to just 77 rushing yards on 27 carries.

Minnesota Vikings:

The Vikings opened the game with a 103-yard kickoff return for a touchdown by Percy Harvin. They would later score on a 3-yard touchdown pass from Donovan McNabb to Michael Jenkins to take a 17-7 halftime lead.

The offense would fail to do anything in the second half. Minnesota managed just 26 yards over the final two quarters. A big reason for that was Minnesota simply couldn’t get the passing game working. McNabb finished the game 7 of 15 for 39 yards. Look for a much better game from McNabb at home in week 2. The Buccaneers defense allowed 305 passing yards in the opener.

Adrian Peterson rushed for 98 yards on 16 carries, but failed to find the endzone. Tampa Bay did a pretty good job against the run against the Lions, holding them to 126 yards on 35 attempts.

The Vikings defense really played well against a very good San Diego offense. They would end up allowing Philip Rivers to throw for 335 yards, but also forced the star quarterback into two interceptions. The defense needs the offense to stay on the field or they are going to continue to lose games late. San Diego controlled the time of possession 37:17 to 22:43.

Betting Trends:

Tampa Bay is 13-3-1 ATS in their last 17 road games, but are just 1-6 ATS in their last 7 games as an underdog of 0.5-3.0.

Minnesota is 8-2-1 ATS in their last 11 games as a home favorite, but are only 1-4 ATS in their last 5 games after accumulating less than 250 total yards in their previous game.

Steve Janus went 4-2 over Sunday and Monday of week 1. Be sure to stop back and see who he has picked to win in week 2.

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