Vikings Falcons Odds

Written by Jack Jones

The Atlanta Falcons are set to host the Minnesota Vikings in the Georgia Dome Sunday. These are two teams headed in opposite directions. Atlanta is on track to make the playoffs, while Minnesota is tied for the worst record in the NFC. These teams last met in 2008, with the Falcons coming away with a 24-17 road victory over the Vikings. Matt Ryan threw for 134 yards and a touchdown, while Michael Turner rushed for 70 yards and a score to lead the way for Atlanta.

According to the latest NFL odds, Atlanta is a 9.5-point favorite over Minnesota and the total is set at 44.5 points.

Atlanta

The Falcons have been on a nice little roll here of late to get within one game of the New Orleans Saints in the NFC South division. Atlanta (6-4, 3-2 home) has won four of their last five games, with their lone loss coming against those same Saints on November 13th. They lost in overtime after head coach Mike Smith went for a 4th-and-1 from his own 29-yard line, allowing New Orleans to kick a chip-shot field goal for the win. His players had his back last Sunday, responding with a 23-17 home victory over the Tennessee Titans.

Atlanta benefited from an injury to Tennessee quarterback Matt Hasselbeck, but rookie Jake Locker came in and nearly led a big comeback. Leading 23-3, the Falcons allowed Locker to throw a pair of touchdown passes to Nate Washington to make a game out of it. In the end, it was too little too late. Roddy White had seven receptions for a season-high 147 yards to lead the way for Atlanta, while Tony Gonzalez chipped in five grabs for 74 yards and a score. Turner also rushed for 100 yards and a touchdown as the Falcons racked up 432 total yards.

This team ranks 12th in the league in total offense (369.0 yards/game) and 15th in total defense (339.5 yards/game). Their strength defensively is stopping the run as they rank 2nd in the league in run defense (85.4 yards/game). Ryan is completing 60.8 percent of his passes for 2,625 yards with 15 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. Turner has rushed for 888 yards and eight touchdowns. While White is coming off a big week, he has been held in check this season. Their star receiver has 54 receptions for 710 yards and only three scores. Gonzalez is the preferred red zone target, catching 50 balls for 561 yards and seven touchdowns.

Minnesota

The Vikings suffered insult to injury last week when star running back Adrian Peterson went down with a sprained ankle in a 27-21 home loss to the Oakland Raiders. Minnesota (2-8, 1-4 away) had already been having enough problems with a healthy Peterson in the line-up, but now things are going to get much more difficult for them if he misses a significant amount of time. He is listed a doubtful for Sunday’s game, and likely won’t return for 2-4 weeks.

Minnesota opened the Oakland game with a 7-0 lead thanks to a 12-yard touchdown run from Peterson. They would allow 27 unanswered points from there, and didn’t get on the scoreboard again until a 26-yard touchdown pass from Christian Ponder to Percy Harvin early in the fourth quarter. They would get within a score on a Kyle Rudolph 1-yard touchdown pass from Ponder with 5:08 to play. The Vikings got the ball back on their own 29 with three minutes to go and one last chance to complete the comeback, but they would eventually turn it over on downs. Ponder finished with 211 passing yards and two touchdowns, but he threw three costly interceptions.

The Vikings rank 19th in the NFL in total offense (323.8 yards/game) and 19th in total defense (360.1 yards/game). However, they are just 29th in passing offense (180.7 yards/game). Peterson had rushed for 875 yards and 11 touchdowns before getting injured, and there’s few players in the league who are more important to their team. Getting the bulk of the carries without Peterson will likely be Harvin (221 yards, one TD) and Toby Gerhart (118 yards). Ponder is going to have to take his game to the next level in a hurry. The rookie quarterback is completing just 52.1 percent of his passes for 955 yards with five touchdowns and six interceptions. He does give them some dual-threat ability as he has rushed for 131 yards on 16 carries.

Betting Trends

The Vikings are 5-12 ATS in their last 17 road games, 4-11-1 ATS in their last 16 games as an underdog, and 2-9-1 ATS in their last 12 vs. a team with a winning record.

The Falcons are 8-1 ATS in their last 9 vs. a team with a losing record, and 12-4 ATS in their last 16 as a favorite of 3.5-10.0 points.

If you are looking to beat the NFL odds this weekend, then sign up with world-renown handicapper Jack Jones today.

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