Minnesota Vikings vs. Jacksonville Jaguars Betting Preview
Where: EverBank Field, Jacksonville, FL
When: Sunday, December 11, 2016, 1:00 PM ET
Line: Minnesota Vikings (-3.5) at Jacksonville Jaguars (+3.5); total: 40.0 – view all NFL lines
TV Broadcast: FOX
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Betting on the Minnesota Vikings (-3.5)
The Minnesota Vikings’ strong start to the season is nothing but a distant memory now, as they lost their sixth game in seven weeks last Thursday at the hands of the mighty Dallas Cowboys, 17-15.
The Vikings actually put up a tremendous fight considering that they had to face the best team in the NFC. Their defense, which has kept them in most contests this season, held the Cowboys to under 270 offensive yards and even recovered two timely Dallas fumbles. The second-best scoring defense in the league ( just 17.4 points allowed per game) has gotten it done in the turnover department again, now having the third-most takeaways in the league with 22.
However, Minnesota’s sputtering offense has not done the team any favors at all. While Sam Bradford went error-free last Thursday night by throwing for 247 yards and a touchdown on 32-of-45 passing, his 5.5 yards-per-attempt average against Dallas shows that the Vikes’ dink-and-dunk approach to the passing game isn’t working. It also doesn’t help that Minnesota’s run game is still the worst in the NFL with less than 80 rushing yards gained per contest.
Bradford must seize the opportunity to fix his form against the stumbling Jaguars in Week 13, but the odds are slightly stacked against him. All three of his interceptions this season have been on the road, and the Vikings have lost four-straight away from Minny after winning their first two road games of the year (with a similar 2-4 record against the spread at that).
Betting on the Jacksonville Jaguars (+3.5)
If the Vikings are feeling bad about themselves this week, just imagine how much worse the Jacksonville Jaguars are still suffering after being dealt their seventh-consecutive defeat on Sunday by the Denver Broncos, 20-10. That loss marked the team’s sixth-straight, double-digit losing season, along with the news that they’ve officially been eliminated from playoff contention again in as many years.
The Jaguars couldn’t capitalize on facing a Broncos team that had a backup rookie quarterback in Paxton Lynch running the show. Their D arguably had its best performance on Sunday by limiting Denver to just 206 offensive yards and 10 first downs, and yet bad quarterback play would once again become their undoing.
Blake Bortles has clearly regressed back to his erratic self this year. He went 19-of-42 for 181 passing yards and a pair of picks against the Broncos, with one of those interceptions being his third pick-six in four weeks. Bortles now disgracefully leads the league in interceptions with 15 for the season, and he was also credited with a lost fumble in Sunday’s defeat, making him accountable for all three of Jacksonville’s turnovers in Week 13.
During their seven-game skid, the Jags have put up just an average of 17.6 points. Going up against a tough Minnesota defense is the last thing they need, and not even the confines of EverBank Field have saved them from humiliation. They’re just 1-5 at home this season (3-3 ATS), with their only win in that span being a three-point affair against the equally-underwhelming Colts.
Writer’s Prediction
The Vikings (-3.5) grind out a 19-14 road victory.
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