The Minnesota Vikings welcome the New York Jets to TCF Bank Stadium this week. Minnesota has won three of their last five, showing signs of life in what has been a relatively disappointing season. The game starts at 1:00 p.m. ET on Sunday and will air on CBS.
In last week’s game, Vikings notched a win over Panthers 31-13. Everson Griffen led the way for the Minnesota defense in the victory, registering five tackles and two sacks. New York is hoping for a different outcome after losing a game they could have won against Miami 16-13. Chris Johnson had a huge game on the ground for the Jets, rushing for 105 yards on 17 attempts.
The Jets are a four-point underdog against the Vikings and the Over/Under (O/U) for the matchup is sitting at 40 points. Sitting at 5-7 Straight Up (SU) and 7-5 Against The Spread (ATS), the Vikings will look to improve as they head into Week 14. Over their last five games, the Vikings have records of 3-2 SU and 4-1 ATS. The Vikings are putting more points on the scoreboard as of late. They averaged 22 points during the last five games compared to their season average of 19.4. Averaging just 15.8 points per game, New York doesn’t seem like much of a threat to the Vikings defense on paper. Minnesota’s defense will look to pad its stats against the pass when the Jets come to town. New York’s 163.3 passing yards per game makes them the bottom-ranked passing team in the NFL. A vital part of the game will be if the Jets can protect their quarterback from Minnesota’s hungry defense. It averages the fourth-most sacks in the league with 2.9 per game. The Vikings hope to continue the trend of torching New York’s defense during the first quarter, when they allow 6.6 points per game. Minnesota’s special teams squad is a force to be reckoned with. They average 104 return yards per game, fifth in the NFL.
On the other side, the Jets have 2-10 SU and 3-8-1 ATS records this season. In the previous five games, New York has a record of 1-4 SU and 2-3 ATS. Odds are New York will continue to rely on its run game, where its 148.1 rushing yards per game ranks second in the league. Shifting to the other side of the ball, the New York defense can dominate if they take advantage of some favorable matchups. New York’s defense ranks in the top half of the league for passing yards allowed and will look to bolster its statistics this week against the 30th-ranked passing attack of the Vikings, which only averages 185.4 yards through the air per game. The Minnesota offensive line, which ranks 27th in the league with 3.2 sacks allowed per game, could be an area where the Jets attack. The Jets could take advantage of Minnesota’s reputation as a slow starter on defense. They are 28th in the NFL in first-quarter points allowed at home with 6.2.
Predictions: SU Winner – MIN, ATS Winner – MIN, O/U – Under
Notes
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of the NY Jets last 5 games.
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Minnesota’s last 7 games.
NY Jets are 1-10 SU in their last 11 games.
The total has gone OVER in 10 of Minnesota’s last 15 games at home.
NY Jets are 3-8-1 ATS in their last 12 games.
Minnesota is 7-3 SU in its last 10 games at home.
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of the NY Jets last 6 games on the road.
Minnesota is 0-5 SU in their last 5 games when playing NY Jets.
NY Jets are 0-5 SU in their last 5 games on the road.
Minnesota is 1-4 ATS in their last 5 games when playing NY Jets.
NY Jets are 1-3-1 ATS in their last 5 games on the road.
NY Jets are 5-0 SU in their last 5 games when playing Minnesota.
New York is 2-2 SU when leading at the half this season. Minnesota is 4-1 SU when taking a lead into halftime.
New York is 2-1 SU when leading at the start of the fourth quarter this season. Minnesota is 3-1 SU when carrying a lead into the fourth quarter.
Minnesota is winless this season (0-4 SU) in games where it loses the turnover battle.
New York is only 1-6 SU this season when allowing at least 3 sacks in a game. The Minnesota defense is averaging 3.0 sacks over its last five games.
The Minnesota passing attack is ranked last in the league, while the New York pass defense is ranked 13th. The Jets’ passing game is ranked just 32nd, compared to the sixth-ranked pass defense of the Vikings.
New York is rated higher in the ground game on both sides of the ball. Its second-ranked rushing attack will face the 24th-ranked run defense of Minnesota, while its third-ranked rush defense will look to contain the 13th-ranked run game of the Vikings.
