Detroit Lions vs Minnesota Vikings 12/8/19 NFL Betting Odds and Preview

The Detroit Lions travel to the U.S. Bank Stadium on Sunday for an NFC North showdown with the Minnesota Vikings.

Both these teams are coming off losses but while the Lions are already out of the playoff equation, the Vikings are very much still in the hunt for a postseason spot. The Lions blew a lead and lost the Chicago Bears on Thanksgiving Day. Meanwhile, the Vikings dropped a close contest to the Seattle Seahawks in their last outing. Minnesota is 4-0 SU and ATS in their last four games against Detroit and they have won by an average winning margin of 13 points over that period.

A Rough Season

The Detroit Lions are having a rough season. Detroit looked like an improved team at the start of the season but it didn’t take long for the wheels to fall off. Injuries have hounded the Lions all season long and right now, they have also lost starting quarterback Matthew Stafford to a back injury. On Sunday, third-string quarterback David Blough is expected to start for Detroit.

Matthew Stafford has completed 64.3% of his passes and has thrown for a total of 2,499 passing yards with a total of 19 touchdowns and five interceptions. Kerryon Johnson leads the team in rushing with 308 yards with two touchdowns on 92 carries. However, both Stafford and Johnson are on the injury reserve. Kenny Golladay has caught 47 passes for 950 yards with 9 touchdowns.

Detroit ranks 7th in the league in passing at 271.7 yards per game and they are 18th on the ground with an average of 105.6 rushing yards per game. The Lions are 13th in the NFL in scoring at 23.3 points per game but they are giving up an average of 26.3 points per game on the season.

Still in the Hunt

The Minnesota Vikings let a winnable game slip away when they dropped a 30-37 game to the Seattle Seahawks the last time out. With the loss, the Vikings fell to 8-4 SU on the season and although they are one game behind the Green Bay Packers in the divisional race, they are still very much in the playoff hunt.

Kirk Cousins has thrown for a total of 3,032 passing yards with 23 touchdowns and a quarterback rating of 61.7. Dalvin Cook is the team’s leading rusher with 1,046 rushing yards with 12 touchdowns on 223 carries while Steffon Diggs has 50 catches for 905 yards with five touchdowns.

Minnesota ranks 13th in passing at 239.5 yards per game. The Vikings are 6th on the ground with an average of 137.1 rushing yards per game. They are the 7th best scoring team in the NFL at 26.6 points per game while also allowing their opponents to score only 20.2 points per game.

Who Wins?

The Lions are 0-5 SU in their last five games played. Detroit is 1-4 SU in their last five games played on the road. The Vikings are 6-2 SU in their last 8 games played. Minnesota is 5-0 SU in their last five games played at home, and 4-1 SU in their last five games against the NFC Conference. Head to head, the Vikings are 6-4 SU in their last 10 games played against the Lions.

Detroit is in terrible shape heading to this game. The Lions are in last place in the NFC North Division with their 3-8-1 SU record and they have lost five straight games. Detroit has been plagued by injury problems all-season long and is without starting quarterback Matthew Stafford. They are out of the playoffs and may be just going through the motions right now.

The Vikings are have been a solid team this season and at 8-4 SU, they are still in good shape to make the playoffs. The Vikings are one game behind the Green Bay Packers in the NFC North but they are still in possession of a wild card spot. However, Minnesota is coming off a 30-37 loss to the Seattle Seahawks.

With the season winding down, the Vikings need to pick up wins to assure themselves a place in the postseason. They have a good opportunity here against a struggling team who is just trying to play the spoiler’s role but can’t do so because of injuries. I like the Lions to stay competitive here but in the end, they don’t have enough to beat Minnesota. The Vikings are 13-2 SU in their last 15 games after an SU loss.

Prediction: Minnesota Vikings

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Other Bets to Make

Detroit is 1-6 ATS in their last six games played. The Lions are 2-4 ATS in six road games played this season and 1-5 ATS in their last six games against the NFC Conference. Minnesota is 1-4 ATS in their last five games played. The Vikings are 3-2 ATS in five home games played this season, 2-5 ATS in their last seven games played in December, and 6-2 ATS in their last 8 Week 14 games. Head to head, the Vikings are 7-3 ATS in their last 10 games played against the Lions.

The Vikings have won the last four head to head meetings between these two teams and they have done so by an average winning margin of 13 points per game. However, David Blough looked decent against a very good Chicago defense the last time out. Detroit has lost by double figures in just one of their eight losses this season. I think Minnesota loses this game but they’ve hung tough in their losses and will do so again here.

Prediction: Lions +13

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The total has gone over in five out of the last seven games played by the Lions. The under is 5-2 in Detroit’s last seven games against the NFC North Division. The total has gone over in six out of the last seven games played by the Vikings. The over is 3-2 in Minnesota’s five home games this season. Head to head, the total has gone under in nine out of the last 12 games between the Lions and Vikings. The under is also 5-0 in Minnesota’s last five home games against Detroit.

These teams have combined to score an average of 40.4 points per game in their last 10 meetings and the Lions have scored an average of just 19.0 points per game in their last four games played and will be led by third-stringer quarterback David Blough. Minnesota ranks 11th in scoring defense and the Lions could have problem scoring points here.

Prediction: Under 43

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