NFL Football Betting: Minnesota Vikings at Green Bay Packers

By BetOnline September 12, 2019

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The Minnesota Vikings and Green Bay Packers both scored huge Week 1 wins against teams which were picked by many to make the 2019 NFL Playoffs. The Vikings handled the Atlanta Falcons while the Packers took care of the Chicago Bears. Now, one of these teams will move to 2-0 and enjoy early-season leverage in the push for both a division title and a playoff spot. Which team will win in Green Bay?

MINNESOTA VIKINGS AT GREEN BAY PACKERS
NFL ODDS: PACKERS -3
NFL TOTAL: 44

WHY THE VIKINGS WILL COVER THE SPREAD

If they stick to running the ball and playing defense.

The ferocious Vikings’ defense was back in Week 1 – a unit we didn’t see much of at all last season. They weren’t always elite in 2018 after being so dynamic in 2017. In the 2019 season opener, people saw a Minnesota defense which looked a lot more like 2017 than 2018.

The Vikings’ smothered Atlanta quarterback Matt Ryan and punished an offense which figures to put up big numbers this season with an assortment of big-play receivers. The Falcons’ offense is going to be better as the season goes along, but Minnesota made it look very bad in Week 1. If the Vikings can do this to an Atlanta offense which has such good receivers, the Minnesota defense can do a similarly good job against the Packers, who have Davante Adams but very little else in their group of wide receivers.

On offense, we saw the Vikings offensive line and ground game improve significantly. Dalvin Cook ran with fire while the team didn’t need much from Kirk Cousins, who only had 10 pass attempts in the entire game. If they can stick to that script, they’ll be in great shape here.

WHY THE PACKERS WILL COVER THE SPREAD

Their offense will be better than what we saw in Week 1.

The Packers could not have played much worse on offense in Week 1 and yet they defeated the Chicago Bears on the road. The Packers beat the NFC North Division champions even though they were outplayed when Aaron Rodgers and the rest of the offense were on the field.

Being able to win when playing terribly is something great teams manage to do. The Packers have to be overflowing with confidence after that win in Chicago – especially after their defense really stpped up. That confidence should carry into this game against the Vikings.

You would have to think that Aaron Rodgers is going to play a lot better than he did in Week 1. Rodgers is too good to play two poor games in a row and he’s too resourceful to not figure out ways to score multiple touchdowns and get the Green Bay offense on track.

Minnesota had a good day at home but we know this team – who plays indoors – is not as effect on the road in the open air. They were just 3-4-1 on the road last season. Green Bay won’t dominate on offense, but it will have a generally successful day.

TAKING A LOOK AT THE TOTAL

The Minnesota offense will probably score a modest total of points. This game comes down to whether the Minnesota defense dominates the Packers’ offense or if Green Bay’s offense makes big plays when it has to. If the Vikings smother the Packers, this game will naturally go under and that’s what I’m expecting. The Packers are still working out the kinks with Rodgers, the new offense and Matt LaFleur. Both teams will run the ball and try to play ball control, which probably brings us to an under.