Vikings vs. Jaguars Prediction
Will the Minnesota Vikings get a much-needed win when they hit the road to face the Jacksonville Jaguars today at 1PM ET?
According to the oddsmakers at BetDSI, the Vikings are favored on the road, as they are getting odds of -3 points against the Jaguars. The over/under total for the contest has been set at 39.5 points. Minnesota has won three straight meetings with the Jaguars and the Vikings are 3-2 ATS all-time in this series.
Minnesota has lost two straight and six of its last seven to drop to 6-6 on the year. The Vikings are still 7-5 against the spread and have covered in two of their last three games. Minnesota is giving up just 17.4 points and 323 yards per game on defense this season. They have forced 22 turnovers this year while racking up 31 sacks. Minnesota has had to be strong on defense as the offense has not been reliable. The Vikings are putting up just 19.4 points and 314.4 yards per game. They have the league’s worst rushing attack at 72.4 yards per game. There has been talk about Adrian Peterson returning from a torn meniscus, but he won’t be available this week. Sam Bradford will still have to lead the offense. He has thrown for 2,662 yards and 13 touchdowns with three interceptions this year while Stefon Diggs has caught 75 passes for 806 yards and two touchdowns.
The Jaguars are coming off a 20-10 loss to Denver last week. Jacksonville has lost seven straight to fall to 2-10 on the year and maintain their spot as one of the league’s most disappointing teams in 2016. The Jags are 5-7 against the spread this year, but just 1-3 ATS in their last four. Jacksonville is giving up 26.1 points per game defensively, but the unit isn’t allowing many yards. The Jags are giving up just 322.5 yards per game. They have a strong pass defense that is holding opponents to 206.9 yards per contest. Offensively, Jacksonville is struggling. They average just 18.7 points and 345.3 yards per game. The offense has some injury issues as Julius Thomas (back) and Allen Hurns (hamstring) are both out and Chris Ivory (hamstring) is questionable to play on Sunday. Blake Bortles has thrown for 2,930 yards and 20 touchdowns, but also has 15 interceptions.
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This game will likely be ugly. Minnesota just has no ability to consistently score. Their short passing attack fails to sustain many drives and the Vikings will have trouble protecting Sam Bradford from the Jaguars pass rush. Still, I like the Minnesota defense to still lead the charge and force some turnovers on Bortles to set up short fields for the offense.
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