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Vikings vs. Packers Gambling Odds & NFC Wild Card Free NFL Pick

Minnesota vs Green Bay Betting?

Headline: Packers Host Vikings in First NFC Wild Card – Will AP Do It Again?

The first of the NFC Wild Card games goes this Saturday from Lambeau Field and features a rematch of a scintillating Week 17 game in which the Vikings qualified for the postseason with a 37-34 win. While the Vikings come into Saturday’s matchup as arguably the hotter of the two teams, there is no doubt which is the better all around squad.

Minnesota Vikings (10-6) vs. Green Bay Packers (11-5)
Date/Time: Saturday, January 5, 8:00 PM ET
Venue: Lambeau Field
Broadcast: NBC
Vikes vs. Packers Betting Lines from betonline.com
Spread: Packers -7 1/2 (-110)
Moneyline: Vikings +300: Packers -360
Over/Under: 46 points

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Let’s take a look at what should play out in what should be a superb clash of one of the better rush offenses versus one of the best passing offenses in the NFL.

The Minnesota Vikings finished 2012 strong earning themselves the chance to pull off a monumental upset in the first round of the playoffs. The key for the Vikings? Adrian Peterson who has torched the Packers defense for over 400 yards the last two meetings between the two sides.

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Minnesota enters Saturday’s clash as the second worst passing offense in the NFL. Christian Ponder had been brutal in the leadup to Week 17 but he managed to put together his best game in an eternity in their win. Ponder was efficient and effective last week giving the Vikings reason for optimism at Lambeau in the Wild Card round. However, void of playmakers in the passing game, Ponder will be hard pressed to repeat his Week 17 performance however.

That said it will be up to Adrian Peterson as already mentioned. He averaged over 200 yards per game in the two regular season matchups between the two sides and is playing as well as any player in the league at the moment. Minnesota comes into Saturday with the league’s second ranked rushing game with an average of 164.63 yards per game. There is little doubt about what Minnesota will try to do in this one – it is up to the Green Bay defense to make some absolutely necessary adjustments.

The Minnesota defense will also be a very important key if the Vikings hope to move on. They simply weren’t very good during the regular season and they failed to slow Aaron Rodgers and company in the two previous meetings. Minnesota was 24th against the pass and 11th versus the run this season.

The Green Bay Packers have something to prove! After a 2-3 start they have been arguably the best team in the NFL down the stretch. The Vikings have given this team some problems the last six weeks but doubting the Pack could be a huge mistake. [soliloquy id=”82219″]

The Green Bay offense has been top tier predictably despite injuries all over the field – there is still some concern about Jordy Nelson and Randall Cobb. Still, the passing offense finished ninth in the NFL and Aaron Rodgers is coming off a 365 yard, four touchdown effort against these same Vikings. The best that Minnesota can hope for is to slow the aerial attack, not to stop them – the Green Bay 20th ranked rushing offense doesn’t figure to do much against the Vikes’ decent run D.

Defensively the Packers were plagued by injuries also this season but they did end up with the league’s 11th best pass defense and the 17th ranked rush D. Keep in mind that AP rushed for 409 yards on 55 carries against them this season and know what the Packers game plan will be!

Betting Prediction

A few trends to consider:

• Minnesota is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games
• The total has gone OVER in 8 of Minnesota’s last 10 games when playing Green Bay
• The total has gone OVER in 4 of Minnesota’s last 5 games when playing on the road against Green Bay
• The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Minnesota’s last 6 games
• Green Bay is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games at home
• Green Bay is 6-1 SU in its last 7 games when playing at home against Minnesota
• Green Bay is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games when playing Minnesota
• Green Bay is 9-2 SU in its last 11 games

It is hard not to love what the Vikings did down the stretch this season but a game in January at Lambeau Field against one of the best all around teams in the NFL is a totally different ball of wax. Christian Ponder had his best game since early in the season in Week 17 – I can’t see that happening again.

Take the home team to get it done on Saturday in impressive fashion as they hold down Adrian Peterson and watch Christian Ponder revert back to his old self. Fear not the 7 1/2!

Pick: Green Bay Packers -7 1/2

By DaveB

Dave B has been a Fantasy Football writer for us for 10 years. A couch potato wannabe, Dave’s insights have been read by 10’s of people for years. He hope’s for world peace + global relaxation. Enjoy and remember only smoke things that are completely natural.