Minnesota Vikings vs. New Orleans Saints Odds & Pick

By Jay Horne

While the world celebrates Christmas Day on Friday, the NFL will open up week 16 action when the Minnesota Vikings travel to the Superdome for a clash with the New Orleans Saints. The Saints will be attempting to clinch the NFC South for the 2nd straight week. Last week, the Saints dropped their 2nd straight game with a 32-29 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. While the final score appeared close, the Chiefs controlled the game in all phases, which spoiled QB Drew Brees return under center. Once thought to be the best team in the NFC, the Saints are in desperate need to right the ship and will be 7 point favorites when the visiting Vikings come to town.

The Vikings are also on the heels of back to back losses. In week 14, the Vikings fell to the Buccaneers and then followed up that effort with an even bigger disappointing loss to the Bears last Sunday. Bears RB David Montgomery slashed the Vikings defense with nearly 150 rushing yards and two touchdowns on the ground. Surprisingly, Minnesota’s defense has struggled often this season, allowing 125 yards per game on the ground and 27 points per game. Both marks rank in the bottom ten teams in the NFL, which is an obvious cause for concern against one of the most versatile offenses in the league.

WR Michael Thomas unexpectedly put on IR

In the last few weeks, the Saints have been hit hard with injuries. QB Drew Brees was sidelined for several weeks with broken ribs. Backup QB Taysom Hill performed well in his relief role mainly due to his rushing ability, but it’s obvious that the Saints are more threatening in the passing game with Brees under center. Another unexpected blow occurred recently when the Saints placed star WR Michael Thomas, on the injured reserve. To be fair, Thomas has battled injuries all season, including an ankle injury that caused the standout to miss time earlier this year. However, it was believed that Thomas’s ankle injury had improved in recent weeks with his return to the lineup.

Last weekend, the Saints announced that Thomas had re-injured the ankle and was shutting their star down for the rest of the regular season with the hopes he would be healthy in time for the playoffs. While nobody can blame the Saints for protecting one of their biggest stars, it was definitely an unexpected change of events for a team that still needs a win to clinch the division. In last week’s loss to the Chiefs, it was quite obvious the Saints needed some extra firepower. RB Alvin Kamara could not get much going out of the backfield, and Brees was surprisingly inaccurate, hitting just 15 of 34 passing despite three touchdowns and one pick. Therefore, this offense has some glaring question marks as this season winds down.

Vikings vs. Saints Betting Trends

The Vikings are 0-5 ATS in the last five games.
The Vikings are 4-1 ATS in their last five road games.
The Vikings have hit the “over” in eight of the last 12 games.
The Vikings are 8-4 ATS in their last 12 games against New Orleans.
The Saints are 5-1-1 ATS in the last seven games.
The Saints are just 1-6 ATS in the last seven home games against Minnesota.
The Saints have hit the “under” in five of the last seven games.

Vikings vs. Saints Prediction 12/25/20

I am going, to be honest; As a handicapper, it is never a best practice to judge a team solely by their last performance. However, the Saints appear to be “off” and less potent on the offensive side of the football. The Saints will get a better match-up this Sunday against the Vikings defense, but who will take advantage of the match-up? RB Alvin Kamara has been contained for nearly the entire 2nd half of the season, and with Thomas out, there is no clear go-to threat in the passing game. Meanwhile, Minnesota has an established repertoire on offense. RB Dalvin Cook is the centerpiece and has become one of the NFL’s best backs. Meanwhile, the continued emergence of WR Justin Jefferson is a huge boost to the passing attack alongside Adam Thielen. Overall, the Vikings’ offense is downright dangerous, and if they can just get a little help from the defense, this is an opportunity for the Vikings to surprise the general public. I would not be surprised by an outright upset from Minnesota. As a result, I will take the points with complete confidence and point out that Minnesota has always played the Saints exceptionally well, covering eight of the last 12 meetings.

Free Pick: Take the Vikings +7