There is going to be a battle in Minnesota this week, and it is going to involve two teams with one loss between the two of them. The 3-1 Houston Texans head north to take on the perfect 4-0 Minnesota Vikings, in a game that may not be as close as the records indicate. The Texans come off a 27-20 win at home against the Tennesse Titans, while the Giants squashed the Giants on Monday Night Football.
The Houston Texans may be 3-1, but they are far from the perfect team. Before the season began, I was highly skeptical of Brock Osweiler under center. Behind an offense line that is far from great, Osweiler has gone down six times in four games. More importantly, he has thrown more interceptions than he has touchdowns. Also, his star receiver DeAndre Hopkins has been neglected as a result. He has fewer yards on the season than Falcon’s star Julio Jones had last week. Sure Will Fuller has been a bright spot, but how long before Hopkins becomes disgruntled, given he was unhappy with his contract in the offseason.
Now, this week Osweiler has to take on the best defense in the league. The Vikings are going to bring the pressure, and Osweiler is going to feel it. Literally. They will likely pick him apart and win the game single-handedly. Now the Vikings are riding high and could be in for a trap game at some point. I just do not see that happening this week given the match-up. The Texans’ three wins had come at home, while their one loss was a total disaster in New England when they were shutout 27-0. So I find it very hard to go against the Vikings in this one for those very reasons.
For all week five NFL Spreads and Over/Under’s, check out our NFL week 5 Betting Odds master-sheet here.
Line: Min -6, O/U: 40
Pick: Vikings and the Under
Result: Min 31 – Hou 10, Vikings and the over