Christmas is rapidly approaching which means we have some Saturday NFL action this weekend as three NFL 2022 matches take place, beginning with the Minnesota Vikings going up against the Indianapolis Colts.
This match is extremely significant for the Vikings as they know that if they win this encounter they will sew up the NFC North title and book their spot in the postseason. The Colts are probably just playing the role of the spoiler but a win here could still keep them relevant in the campaign.
Minnesota Vikings
The Minnesota Vikings go into this match as the favourites to win it but they will need to completely forget what was little short of a shambolic performance from them against the Detroit Lions last week. They got absolutely gashed defensively and even a 200+ yard game from star receiver Justin Jefferson wasn’t enough to save them. That means they have to go hard in this one to overcome one of the better defences in the league.
Minnesota go into this match 10-3 for the season but there are these growing concerns that they are winning a bunch of tight matches. In essence, that is no bad thing but there is the fear that you can’t keep going to the well and coming out on top. If they are going to make things easier then it would help if their defence steps up to the plate. Their offense is one of the most potent in the league and they usually have the capability to beat teams through the air or on the ground.
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Indianapolis Colts
On the face of it you look at the 4-8-1 record of the Indianapolis Colts and think that they are a poor team but that isn’t really the case, they just can’t seem to put a run of consistent performances together. They have one of the better defences in the league and in Jonathan Taylor they have the best running back of this season and last but the rest of the game doesn’t seem to go together and when they get behind in matches they find it hard to turn things around.
Indianapolis are third in the AFC South but with the Tennessee Titans not exactly pulling up trees if they can win out from here their 8-8-1 record could be enough to snatch top spot in the division. They will need that though because even at this stage it is hard to see how they get to the postseason off the back of a wildcard because the AFC is very strong this year. If they are going to win out their passing game has to come to the party.
Betting
When you consider that Justin Jefferson faces a tough matchup against Stephon Gilmore, there could be another chance for TJ Hockenson to shine in a Minnesota Vikings uniform. The tight end has seen plenty of action since he arrived in Minnesota and while Indianapolis are decent enough going up against wide receivers, they are nowhere near as good against tight ends, which should ensure that Kirk Cousins looks to his main man in that position.
Even on a day where Jefferson went off last week, Hockenson was still able to catch six passes for 77 yards last week and with the running game and the deep passing game likely to be taken away from the Vikings then the checkdown and the shorter passes down the middle are ones which Cousins is going to have to utilise. Hockenson has a receiving line of 49 yards so he only needs to catch five passes to cover this you would think and I like his chances of doing just that.
Tips
Back T.J.Hockenson – Over 49 receiving yards for a 3/10 stake at 1.83 with BetVictor
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