Jacksonville Jaguars at Minnesota Vikings Spread

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A pair of teams coming off disappointing seasons will be looking to get off to a good start when they meet Sunday in the Metrodome.

The Minnesota Vikings are coming off a 3-13 campaign in which they failed to win a single division game.

The Jacksonville Jaguars finished last season 5-11. It was their fourth straight non-winning campaign.

The Vikings have won each of the last two meetings with the Jaguars with the most recent being a 30-12 blowout in Jacksonville Nov. 23, 2008.

Odds makers believe the Vikes will come out on top again and have listed them as a 3.5-point favorite. The total is currently 39.5.

Minnesota Vikings:

While the Vikings ranked in the bottom half of the league in both total and scoring offense, they boasted one of the best running attacks in the NFL.

Led by Adrian Peterson, who rushed for 970 yards and 12 touchdowns despite missing three games, Minnesota finished fourth in the league in rushing with 144.9 yards per game.

The running game is clearly Minnesota’s bread and butter. Unfortunately, it may not have Peterson on the field Sunday. The All-Pro is currently listed as questionable and will see limited carries if he does get the nod.

Even if Peterson suits up, there’s no guarantee the Vikes will be able to run on a Jacksonville defense that finished ninth in the NFL last season with only 104.2 rushing yards allowed per game.

A big key in this one could be the Minnesota pass rush. Led by Jared Allen’s 22 sacks, the Vikings tied for first in the NFL a year ago with 50 sacks. Allen and company could pose problems for a Jacksonville offensive line that gave up 44 sacks last season.

Jacksonville Jaguars:

The Jags have running back issues of their own. Star running back Maurice Jones-Drew won’t get the start following a lengthy holdout. Instead, Rashad Jennings will get the nod.

Jones-Drew, who is expected to see a limited number of snaps, rushed for 1,606 yards and eight touchdowns last season. He was virtually the only offensive threat on a team that ranked dead last in the NFL in total offense with 259.3 yards per game.

Running on Minnesota wasn’t easy for anyone last year as it ranked 11th in the league with 107.0 rushing yards allowed per game. However, the Vikings were vulnerable against pass, giving up 251.2 yards per game (26th in the NFL).

If Jacksonville is going to exploit Minnesota’s pass defense, it will have to be a whole lot more effective with its passing game than it was last season. The Jags finished with an NFL-low 136.2 passing yards per game.

Betting Trends:

Both Jacksonville and Minnesota have been solid gold in Week 1. The Jags are 11-2 against the spread in their last 13 openers, and the Vikings are 7-3 against the spread in their last 10. Minnesota, however, is 0-4 against the number in its last four home games.

The trends certainly do not line up in reference to the total. Consider that Minnesota has finished over the number in four of its last five at home while Jacksonville has come in below the total in six of its last eight on the road with a push.

About the Author: Jimmy Boyd is known for his consistency. He's a proven winner in college and pro football, college and pro basketball and pro baseball. He finished as the No. 1 ranked MLB handicapper in 2007 by earning $1,000/game bettors $50,050. He also finished as the No. 1 ranked basketball handicapper in the 2008-09 season, profiting $1,000/game bettors 38,530. His basketball plays have banked $1,000/game bettors nearly $80,000 the last five years. Check out Jimmy's premium picks for tonight!
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