Minnesota Vikings vs Detroit Lions 12/23/18 NFL Odds, Preview and Prediction

The Minnesota Vikings take on the Detroit Lions on Sunday 12/23/18 in a showdown between NFC North rivals at the Ford Field in Detroit.

The Minnesota Vikings were able to hold on to the sixth and final playoff spot in the NFC with a victory over the Miami Dolphins in their last outing. The win snapped the Vikings’ two game losing skid and put them just half a game back of the Seattle Seahawks. A win by Minnesota coupled by a loss by Seattle to Kansas City will put the Vikings in the 5th spot.

Kirk Cousins is completing 70.5% of his passes for a total of 3,913 passing yards with 26 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. Latavius Murray has rushed for 538 yards and has six rushing touchdowns. After his return from injury Dalvin Cook has enjoyed  bigger role with the team and he’s put up 503 yards and two scores this season.

While the Vikings are trying to make the playoffs, the Detroit Lions are trying to avoid finishing last in the NFC North. The Lions are already out of playoffs and they just want to end their season on a high note. However, Detroit could still play the spoiler role and put a dent on the Vikings’ postseason bid. Detroit has been stalled by its offense which is only averaging 20.3 points this season. The Lions have failed to score more than 20 points in their last five games and if they want to win this game, they must start scoring points.

Matthew Stafford has thrown for 3,395 yards with 19 touchdowns and 11 interceptions while completing 67% of his passes but he was sacked a total of 10 times during their first meeting against the Vikings in Week 7.  Stafford has been sacked a total of 37 times this season. Meanwhile, Kenny Golladay has a total of five touchdowns on 1,005 receiving yards for the Lions.

Minnesota is 2-3 SU in their last 5 games played and the Vikings are 2-5-1 SU in their last 8 games played on the road. The Detroit is 2-6 SU in their last 8 games played and the Lions are 3-4 SU in seven home games played this season. Head to head, these teams have split their last 10 meetings but the Vikings are 2-1 SU in their most recent three games played between these teams.

In their first game without offensive coordinator John DeFilippo, Minnesota scored 41 points in a win over the Miami Dolphins. Considering they scored a total of 41 in their previous three games, the offense looks good. The Lions meanwhile have been held to 20 or fewer points in seven out of their last eight games and the fact that they have nothing to play for in this game except trying to be the spoilers, I think that the Vikings have more reasons to desire this game than the Lions.

The Vikings are 6-6-2 ATS in 14 games played this season. Minnesota is also 2-5-1 ATS in their last 8 games played on the road. The Lions are 8-6 ATS in 14 games played this season. Detroit is 3-4 ATS in seven home games played so far. Head to head, the Vikings are 11-6-2 ATS in their last 19 games against the Lions. Minnesota is also 5-2 ATS in their last seven road games against Detroit.

The total has gone under in five out of the last seven games played by the Vikings. The under is 5-0 in Detroit’s last five games played and the under is also 5-1 in the Lions’ last six home games. Head to head, the total has gone under in four out of the last five games between these teams.

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