NFL Picks Week 4: Giants Vs. Vikings ‘Monday Night Football’ Odds, Analysis, Predictions
Editor’s note: NESN.com’s Mike Cole, Ricky Doyle and Andre Khatchaturian deliver their NFL picks every Thursday of the season, and here’s who they like in the New York Giants-Minnesotsa Vikings Week 4 game, with the line from OddsShark.
New York Giants (2-1) at Minnesota Vikings (3-0), 8:30 p.m.
Mike: Vikings. Minnesota has remedied its injury issues by protecting the football and playing defense. That’s bad news for the Giants, who can’t help but give away the ball. The Giants also have a lot of injury problems in the secondary.
Ricky: Vikings. Minnesota has an NFL-best plus-8 turnover differential, whereas New York is tied for the league’s second-worst mark at minus-6. The Vikings’ offense might struggle a little bit against the Giants’ defense, but it won’t matter much if Sam Bradford and Co. constantly are working with a short field. Also, trust the Vikings’ D.
Andre: Giants. We all know how great the Vikings’ defense is (first in sacks, opponent yards/play and turnover differential). But I?m having trouble seeing Minnesota score touchdowns against a Giants defense that is second-best in red-zone defense (just 25 percent of opponents’ red-zone drives end in TDs). The Vikings have just three offensive touchdowns (tied for 31st), and kicker Blair Walsh has looked shaky.
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