As ever in the opening week of the NFL season the Monday Night Football is a double header of action. This year it begins where the season will finish – in Minnesota as the Minnesota Vikings host the New Orleans Saints.
That means we will see an immediate return to Minnesota for Adrian Peterson, the running back who left the Vikings in the off season to join the Saints, which will add to the hype around the game for sure.
[the_ad_group id=”3624″]
Minnesota Vikings
After all the issues the Vikings had heading into last season to come out with an 8-8 slate was no shame but they have had no such problems this year so they will be looking to build on that and better it. I always think a side who hosts the Super Bowl begin a season extra motivated and I’ll be interested to see if that applies here too.
If the Vikings are to make that next step then their offense is going to need to improve and the acquisition of exciting running back Dalvin Cook in the draft should help with that. Latavius Murray still has life in him too while Stefon Diggs should improve again now he has been in the league for a while.
New Orleans Saints
Despite the best efforts of Drew Brees, who is regularly the leading passer in the league in terms of passing yards, the Saints have not made the play-offs in recent times and I’m not convinced they are equipped to make them this year either. I do think they have improvement in them especially if Adrian Peterson stays fit but they are in a good division this year.
The offense of the Saints should automatically fire if Brees stays fit even allowing for the loss of Brandin Cooks but if they are to make the next step then their defence is going to need to improve. This will not be the toughest test they will face in that regard but it is a decent chance to show an early step up in that regard.
Betting
I actually think this is a 50/50 match. If I were to give a slight edge to anyone it would be the Minnesota Vikings but it certainly wouldn’t be enough of an edge to act upon in terms of offering a bet or anything.
The one bet I do like on the match is the rushing yards of the rookie Dalvin Cook. I’ve already sung the praises of the Minnesota rookie in the season previews and I see no reason why he can’t start well against a Saints defence, which although it may have improved still don’t look watertight to me.
Cook may share a few carries with Latavius Murray over the course of the night but his line is very low at 47.5 and I expect him to get enough touches to cover that.
Tips
WON – Back D.Cook – Over 47.5 rushing yards for a 4/10 stake at 1.85 with BetVictor
Back him here
Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2017
