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NFL Betting: Minnesota Vikings at Tampa Bay Bucs

Written by Jack Jones

The Minnesota Vikings will be fighting to stay in playoff contention on Sunday when they head to Raymond James Stadium to take on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Vikings are coming off a hard fought 28-27 win over the Packers last Sunday in which running back Adrian Peterson pretty much took the team on his shoulders. He needed to as quarterback Gus Frerotte struggled with three interceptions. The defense was also tough in allowing just 184 yards, recording two safeties, and racking up four sacks. Now the team is tied for first in the NFC North, but the odds makers have them as the underdog this weekend as Tampa Bay is a 4-point favorite with the total set at 38.5.

Tampa Bay sits at 6-3 and is a game back of the Carolina Panthers for the NFC South lead. The Bucs were off last week with their bye, which should have this team well rested for their tilt with the Vikings. That bye week was fresh off an impressive performance in which the Bucs pulled off the biggest comeback in franchise history, down 24-3 to the Chiefs before winning 30-27 in overtime.

The bye week will give the Tampa Bay offense a big boost for this one as running back Cadillac Williams is supposed to return to the field for the first time since suffering a knee injury last September. That should give a break to Earnest Graham, who has racked up 560 rushing yards and four touchdowns while grabbing 23 passes. Graham though has a knee injury so he could use some time off. Jeff Garcia has 1,363 passing yards, five scores, and three interceptions on the year, but came through big in the win over Kansas City. His top target should be Antonio Bryant, who has 45 catches and two touchdowns this year. Other options are Ike Hilliard with 33 receptions and three scores, and a trio of talented tight ends.

On defense the Bucs are going to have to find a way to slow down Adrian Peterson. Tampa Bay is allowing 99.3 yards per game on the ground to rank eleventh in the league, but they have yielded only one rushing touchdown all season long. The secondary has done a good job of picking off passes and Gaines Adams is more than capable of getting to the passer with four sacks to lead the team. The Bucs are fifth in the league against the pass with their 190.1 yards per game average. If you want to bet on Tampa Bay -4, do it at BetUS and get up to 145% in signup bonuses!

The Minnesota offense revolves around Peterson, who leads the NFL with his 1,015 rushing yards to go with seven touchdowns. Peterson has gone over the century mark in four straight games and seems to be getting better and better each week. The team’s other running back in Chester Taylor has also done his part with 211 rushing yards, 25 catches, and two touchdowns of his own. The running attack needs to be strong to make up for the weaknesses of Frerotte, who has 1,619 passing yards and ten touchdowns, but has thrown 11 picks. Bernard Berrian has 30 catches and four touchdowns on the year, but is coming off a Packer game which didn’t see him with the ball in his hands all day.

The front four of the Minnesota Vikings is the strength of the team with tackles Pat Williams and Kevin Williams stuffing the run and Jared Allen providing an excellent pass rush form the end. Linebacker Chad Greenway has also done a great job in stuffing the run to help the Vikings rank third in the league with only 70.1 rushing ypg given up. The pass defense though has been weak in allowing 219.2 ypg, but part of the reason for that high number is that teams don’t even bother trying to run the ball. You can bet the Vikings at +4 at Sportsbook.com instantly using your debit or credit card.

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