NFL Playoffs: Wild Card Betting Picks for Vikings at Saints
The Vikings head to New Orleans in a rematch of the 2017 Minneapolis Miracle game. The Saints finished as the third seed in the NFL and will face Minnesota who held on to the sixth seed despite some injuries down the stretch. The Saints are large home favorites against the Vikings and possess the second-best odds from the NFC to win the Super Bowl. Will the Vikings rekindle their 2017 magic or will the heavily favored Saints move on to the divisional round?
NFL Betting Tips: Use RotoGrinders NFL odds to compare NFL Wild Card lines across online sportsbooks and determine which sportsbook is best for your NFL betting picks.
NFL Wild Card Betting Picks — Vikings at Saints
NFL Super Bowl 2020 Odds
NFL Super Bowl 54 Winner
New Orleans Saints +600 – PointsBet
Minnesota Vikings +4000 – FanDuel Sportsbook
NFC Champion
New Orleans Saints +260 – FanDuel Sportsbook
Minnesota Vikings +1900 – FanDuel Sportsbook
NFL Wild Card Round Injury Report and Analysis
The Saints were a Packers or 49ers loss away from being the top seed in the NFC and earning home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. Alas, New Orleans will settle for home-field advantage in the opening round and a friendly matchup with the Minnesota Vikings. The Saints won their last three games of the regular season and finished tied as the third highest-scoring offense in the NFL (28.6 points per game). Over the final three weeks of the regular season, the Saints led the NFL with 38 points per game.
Drew Brees led the NFL in completion percentage for the third consecutive season with a 74.3% mark and led the league in sack percentage, only being taken down 3.1% of the time. During a season where Brees took over control of the passing touchdowns record, he was stellar with 27 touchdowns to only 4 interceptions. The Saints offense — especially at home — clicked on all cylinders.
The Vikings finished in the top-ten in total scoring but struggled over the last few games to score points (22.7 points per game). This should not be all that surprising considering the Vikings missed the services of both Dalvin Cook and Alexander Mattison. Rookie Mike Boone filled in admirably, especially in the Week 17 affair, but Minnesota clearly missed the dynamic abilities of Dalvin Cook. Cook finished with 13 rushing touchdowns and north of 1100 rushing yards despite the final two games of the season and the better part of the Vikings’ Week 14 contest against the Chargers. Cook will be ready to play and Alexander Mattison was a full participant in Thursday’s practice. All systems go.
The defenses of both teams finished in the middle of the pack in most defensive categories. The Vikings’ defensive front is not as dominant as those of years passed and the Saints do not possess the defensive capabilities of a season ago. The total is up after opening at 47 points as both offenses are very capable of moving the ball — especially inside a dome. The highest total of the week will be a popular daily fantasy target for this weekend’s contests.
NFL Wild Card Betting Pick — Vikings at Saints
Certainly, jumping on the over now is an open admission that I missed the bet earlier in the week. That said, I think this number still has room to move up before the weekend and want to jump on it before it reaches 50 points (DraftKings Sportsbook features a 50-point total at the time of this writing). If you project a high-scoring affair, buy this FanDuel line before it catches up to the competition. I will take the over, here.
The Pick: Over 49.5 Points (FanDuel)
NFL Wild Card Betting Picks — Touchdown Scorer
DraftKings Sportsbook posted touchdown odds for all of the Wild Card weekend games by Thursday evening. Here are a few I am interested in for this game.
Alvin Kamara +100
Stefon Diggs +190
Kyle Rudolph +240
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NFL Wild Card Round — Vikings at Saints Player Props
NFL Wild Card Round — Kirk Cousins Over 260.5 Passing Yards at DraftKings Sportsbook
If interested in Cousins passing prop, over bettors must attack at DraftKings Sportsbook. FanDuel posts their number at 265.5 passing yards — creating much greater opportunity at DraftKings. The game in New Orleans possesses the highest total of the weekend with the Saints as big favorites. The projected script suggests that Captain Kirk will be forced to air it out and could creep over this number late if and when the Saints play a prevent-style defense. I’ll take the over at DraftKings. Over 260.5 Passing Yards -112
NFL Wild Card Round — Tre’Quan Smith Over 19.5 Receiving Yards at FanDuel Sportsbook
Speaking of looking for the best price, the line on Smith’s receiving yards is 19.5 at both DraftKings and FanDuel. FanDuel, though, offers a better price at -112. GridironIQ projects Smith for 34.5 receiving yards like due to the recent uptick in opportunities and the fragility of the Vikings pass defense. Smith could very well exceed this prop with one catch. I will take the over at FanDuel. Over 19.5 Receiving Yards -112
NFL Wild Card Player Props at Monkey Night Fight
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Here are my favorite picks from Monkey Knife Fight for the opening NFC Wild Card game:
Michael Thomas Over 8.5 Receptions
Stefon Diggs Under 69.5 Receiving Yards
Image Credit: USA Today Sports Images