Two of the NFL's hottest teams square off on Sunday Night Football as the Minnesota Vikings host the New Orleans Saints in a showdown of teams with Super Bowl aspirations. Kickoff is at 8:20 p.m. ET. The Saints have won five straight led by an offense that's blowing past the opposition, but the Vikings have been consistent on both sides of the ball during a three-game winning streak of their own. The line on this game has swung a full five points since opening at Minnesota -2.5. Now, the Saints are favored by 2.5 in the current Vikings vs. Saints odds and the over-under for total points scored is 53.5. Key matchups abound when each team has the ball, so before you make any Vikings vs. Saints picks, you need to see what the SportsLine Projection Model is saying about it.
The advanced computer model simulates every NFL game 10,000 times, and those who have followed it have seen massive returns. It went 176-80 last season and beat over 95 percent of CBS Office Pool players in 2016 and 2017. It also performed better than 98 percent of experts tracked by NFLPickWatch.com during that span. Additionally, it went 48-34 on A-rated picks against the spread last season, and $100 bettors who followed it the past two seasons are up nearly $4,000.
It went 10-4 straight-up in a wild Week 7, including calling the Patriots' huge win over the Bears, improving its record to a blistering 71-34 on the season. And when it comes to all of its top-rated picks, it is now on a strong 62-43 run. Anybody who has been following those picks is way, way up.
Now the model has simulated the Saints vs. Vikings 10,000 times. We can tell you the under is hitting in 60 percent of simulations, but the model has also produced a strong against-the-spread pick that hits a solid 55 percent of the time. This pick is available only at SportsLine.
The model has factored in the amazing connection of quarterback Drew Brees and wide receiver Michael Thomas, which leads a Saints offense that is averaging 34 points per game, second only to the Chiefs entering Week 8. Brees has completed a whopping 77 percent of his passes, averaging 300 yards per game. Thomas has 53 receptions for 588 yards on just 58 targets, an astonishing 91.4 percent reception rate.
Brees has spread it through the zones, too. Running back Alvin Kamara has 40 receptions, second-most on the team and third in the NFL among backs, while tight end Benjamin Watson is the team's No. 3 target. Tre'Quan Smith has just seven receptions, but is averaging 25 yards per catch and has two touchdowns in his last two games.
New Orleans' defense is allowing only 72.3 rushing yards per game, fewest in the NFL, which should allow it to put more bodies on the Vikings' talented wide receivers.
Just because the Saints' offense has been on fire doesn't mean the Vikings will be overwhelmed.
Minnesota's offense averages nearly as many passing yards as New Orleans, led by the NFL's top receiver, Adam Thielen, who leads the league with 67 receptions and 822 yards. Fellow starter Stefon Diggs has 48 catches for 468 yards, as QB Kirk Cousins has targeted his starters 163 times, or 54.3 percent of his pass attempts. It will face a Saints defense that is being gashed for 294 yards passing per game, fifth-most in the NFL.
Minnesota's defense is allowing only 18.3 points per game since the bye week and has 20 sacks overall, led by DE Danielle Hunter's eight.
Who wins Saints vs. Vikings? And which side covers 55 percent of the time? Visit SportsLine now to see which side you need to be all over, all from the incredible computer model that has returned nearly $4,000 to $100 bettors.
