After falling out of first place in the NFC North for the first time this season, the Minnesota Vikings will look to avoid moving into the division’s basement when they head to Lambeau Field in Week 10 to conclude their home-and-home series with the Green Bay Packers for this season. The people who set the betting lines, apparently, don’t like their chances.
Our friends at the FanDuel Sportsbook have opened the lines for Sunday’s game, and the Vikings currently sit as a 4.5-point underdog to the Packers.
The over/under for the game currently rests at 42.5 points.
The Vikings, as we all saw on Monday Night Football, appear to have completely abandoned the concept of offense, as they generated none of it in a 23-6 loss to the Buffalo Bills for their second loss in a row. Carson Wentz stepped in at quarterback for the injured Kyler Murray and turned in what may have been the worst start a Vikings quarterback has put together in recent memory, completing just 8-of-25 passes and turning the ball over three times, including two interceptions. . .a number that could have been significantly higher.
The Packers, on the other hand, have won five of their last six after getting off to a 1-2 start. This past week, they absolutely thumped the New England Patriots to the tune of 45-27 behind three more touchdown passes from Jordan Love and a defense that forced Drake Maye into three interceptions. The Packers currently sit in last place in the North, but with a 6-3 record would lead either the NFC South or the NFC East. . .that’s just how good the NFC North has been this season.
These two teams met in the regular season opener at U.S. Bank Stadium. Wentz came into the game midway through the first quarter after Murray suffered a concussion, and the Packers had a 22-10 lead with just over five minutes remaining in the third quarter. From there, however, the Minnesota defense took over, leading an onslaught against Love and the Green Bay offense that saw the Vikings score 29 unanswered points to finish the game, including forcing a turnover on downs and generating an interception and a fumble to set up scoring opportunities. Minnesota took home the 39-22 win to get their season off to a 1-0 start.
With the NFL trade deadline looming at 3:00 PM Central today. . .or approximately seven hours from when this story goes up. . .we will see if anything the Vikings do (or don’t do) will shift this number at all. As it stands now, however, the Vikings are currently an underdog to their division rivals as the second half of the season officially gets underway.
