In one of the early Week 1 NFL preseason games the Buffalo Bills host the Minnesota Vikings. The odds maker has saddled the visiting Vikings with a -1 point spread line. The total line is one of the lowest on the NFL board currently listed at 36.5 points. Kickoff at NEW Era Field in Buffalo is scheduled for 7:00 PM EDT on Thursday August 10th.
Neither one of these squads had successful campaign last season with Minnesota finishing up 8-8 on the year and the Bills 7-9. From a betting perspective, the Viks showed a small profit recording a 9-9 against the spread mark while Buff was a money losing 6-9-1 ATS for their backers.
The Vikings lost QB Teddy Bridgewater before Week 1 to a grisly knee injury and will start the season on the PUP list. Sam Bradford was acquired and he played well with a completion rate of 71.6% tossing 20 TD passes and just 5 INTs and he’ll be counted on to replicate last season’s numbers. RB Adrian Peterson got hurt early in the season and played only three games on the season amassing a feeble 72 yards on 37 carries. Peterson is no longer on the team signing with the Saints leaving a trio of backs to fill the void in rookie RB Davin Cook, Bishop Sankey and Jerick McKinnon.
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The Bills didn’t have the injury excuse that the Vikings had. They did have some of their star players miss time, but only WR Sammy Watkins (8 games) of the top flight offensive talent missed an extended period. Buffalo started the season with two close losses then strung together a four-game winning streak to sit at 4-2 after Week 6. They then followed that up with three straight losses and to make matters worse they played well enough to win in two of the three games. Buffalo closed out the season on a down note losing four of their last five game. This season the Bills expect to see some improvement in a defense that allowed 23.6 points per game, but the number was skewed by a handful of games against woeful offensive clubs.
Betting Angles
Motivation
The Bills have a new head coach, offensive coordinator and defensive coordinator and will look to instill a winning attitude right from the get go. They hit the road for a pair against the Eagles and Ravens, so this may be their best chance at a W before the completely meaningless Week 4 game. The Vikings will just be looking to stay healthy as they start the preseason with two road games.
Injury Report
Minnesota is banged up on a retooled offensive line and RB Latavius Murray returned to practice, but it was uncertain if he would see any carries on Thursday. Buffalo is thin on the defensive line.
Minnesota at Buffalo Betting Trends
- The Vikings are 10-1-1 against the spread in their last 12 turf games.
- Minnesota is 1-5 against the spread in their last 6 road games from last year.
- The Bills are 8-0 in their last 8 home games last year.
- Buffalo is 10-2 in their last 12 games overall.
- The game total has gone under 7-2 in the Vikings last 9 games played on turf.
