Vikings vs Saints | Predictions

Thursday Sept. 9  - 8:30 p.m. (ET) on NBC

vs.

Minnesota Vikings @ New Orleans Saints (-5)             ‘Over/Under’ 48

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Last season these were clearly the top two teams in the conference as they combined for 25 victories against only seven defeats. New Orleans earned the No.1 seed and hosted No.2 seed Minnesota in the conference final. The Saints were a four point favorite and the totals line was 54. The game lived up to all the hype as New Orleans pulled out a 31-28 win in overtime to capture the NFC.

Statistically, the Vikings dominated that game, outgaining the Saints in total yards 475 to 257, first downs 31 to 15, and time of possession 36:39 to 27:56. They one area they did not dominate was turnovers. Minnesota turned the ball over five times including two costly interceptions while New Orleans fumbled the ball away once. Viking QB Brett Favre has to do a better job at protecting the ball against a very opportunistic Saint’s defense in order to avoid the same result.

New Orleans’ offense is basically intact from last season’s while Minnesota is missing WR Sidney Rice (injury) and RB Chester Taylor (signed with Chicago). Stick with the Saints to cover in another wild one.

2009 Team Records:

• Minnesota: 12-4 SU, 9-6-1 ATS
• New Orleans: 13-3 SU, 8-8 ATS

Minnesota Vikings most recently:

• When playing in September are 4-6
• When playing on turf are 9-1
• After outgaining opponent are 7-3
• When playing outside the division are 6-4

New Orleans Saints most recently:

• When playing in September are 5-5
• When playing on turf are 8-2
• After being outgained are 5-5
• When playing outside the division are 9-1

A few betting trends to consider:

• The total has gone OVER in 5 of Minnesota’s last 5 games when playing New Orleans
• Minnesota is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing New Orleans
• The total has gone OVER in 4 of Minnesota’s last 5 games when playing on the road against New Orleans
• Minnesota is 13-5 SU in its last 18 games
• The total has gone OVER in 5 of New Orleans’s last 5 games when playing Minnesota
• New Orleans is 16-3 SU in its last 19 games
• The total has gone OVER in 4 of New Orleans’s last 5 games when playing at home against Minnesota
• New Orleans is 8-2 SU in its last 10 games at home

Next up:

• Minnesota home to Miami, Sunday, September 19
• New Orleans at San Francisco, Monday, September 20

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