The Minnesota Vikings enter the week coming off the high of defeating division rival Green Bay Packers on Sunday Night Football last week. This week, they leave their new stadium and hit the road to take on the Carolina Panthers. While the Vikings pulled through in a close game with the Packers in week two, the Panthers had it pretty easy, as they took care of the San Francisco 49ers by a score of 46-27.
Last week we got to see the debut of Sam Bradford in a Vikings uniform. And he looked pretty darn good, throwing for 286 yards and two touchdowns. Stefon Diggs emerged as Bradford’s favorite target, having an absolute monster game that led the team to victory. The team will be without running back Adrian Peterson for a while, however, as he tore his meniscus.
Minus one of their weapons, who honestly had not helped the team at all in their first two games, the Vikings will have to take on Cam Newton and the Panthers, who are seen as one of the favorites in the NFC. Following a game that they could have won against the Broncos in week one, the Panthers made it look easy last week. They were on the road, and they also got to face one of the worst team’s in the NFL. So one cannot read too much into last week. The Panthers will be without their starting running back as well, as Jonathan Stewart is also on the shelf with an injury.
Both teams have tremendous defenses. Therefore, I am expecting a pretty solid defensive showdown in this one. As far as the result, I find it hard to see the Vikings going on the road against a team as talented as the Panthers, following a big divisional win, and coming out on top. So I think the Panthers get out on top, and even with seven points, I believe they have enough to cover. A push is certainly plausible here, but since I need to choose from the two, I am banking on the Vikings looking flat following the high that was last week’s victory against Green Bay.
Line: Car -7, O/U: 43
Pick: Texans and the under
Result: Min 22 – Car 10, Vikings and the under
To see the spreads and over/under for each week two match-up, make sure you head over to our master sheet right here!