NFL Betting Odds - Detroit Lions vs. Minnesota Vikings

Detroit Lions (1-7 SU, 2-6 ATS) at
Minnesota Vikings (7-1 SU, 5-3 ATS)

Sunday, November 15 - 1 PM ET

In the BetUS NFL betting odds, the Vikings are listed as a 16.5-point favorite, with a posted total of 47.5 points.

Here are some NFL football betting trends as they relate to this matchup:

• DET has covered one of its last five games
• DET has lost 24 of its last 25 games SU
• DET has covered one of its last five road games
• DET has lost its last 16 road games SU
• DET has played eight of its last nine road games OVER the total
• MINN has won seven of its last eight games SU
• MINN has played five of its last six games OVER the total
• MINN has covered one of its last six home games
• MINN has won nine of its last 11 home games SU
• MINN has played six of its last nine home games OVER the total
  
  

Also....

• MINN is 6-2-1 ATS in the last nine meetings
• MINN has won 14 of the last 15 meetings SU
• Four of the last five meetings have gone UNDER the total
• MINN has won the last eleven meetings SU as the home team
• MINN has covered three of the last four meetings as the home team
• Five of the last eight meetings in Minneapolis have gone OVER the total
  
  

Yes, the records are mirror images of each other. The Lions, coming off that 0-16 season, have been more competitive at times, but they have also suffered their share of blowout defeats. Five of their seven losses this year have been by double digits, leading to a 2-6 ATS record in the NFL betting odds. Meanwhile, the Vikings have reached 27 points in every game but one, and are coming off a bye, which means they have two weeks to prepare for this.

Will the Vikings have mercy? Well, not likely. Let's take a look at what Minnesota's been able to do against inferior opposition thus far. They beat the Browns by 14 points in the season opener, went to Ford Field and did the same to the Lions, and walloped St. Louis 38-10 - at the Edward Jones Dome. Brett Favre has done a commendable job of cutting down on his mistakes, throwing just three interceptions. Rookie QB Matthew Stafford of Detroit is taking his lumps, having been picked off twelve times already (five times in the come-from-ahead defeat against Seattle last week).

Minnesota's Percy Harvin is the do-everything guy who is a threat to score every time he touches the ball, and is probably the front-runner for NFL rookie of the year.

Detroit has been beaten by an average of 20 points in its four road games, without a cover in the NFL betting odds. They've lost 24 of their last 25 games, and have dropped 16 road games in a row. They're allowing 4.7 yards per rush attempt, which is a clear invitation to Adrian Peterson, but interestingly enough, Minnesota has outgained the opposition by only .2 yards per play (that's POINT-TWO yards). That tells us that the rushing "D" is not as stiff as it was last year (statistically it isn't, at 4.1 ypc) and the Vikes can get beaten in the secondary.

This team has also not cashed in a lot of winning tickets when laying more than seven points (6-15 ATS in the NFL betting odds, in fact, over a 21-game period). At least this much can be said for Detroit - Stafford, Kevin Smith and Calvin Johnson are all on the field at the same time, which has been rare for them this season.

Maybe with another week of practice, Stafford and Johnson can click. In a small recommendation, we'll move with the Detroit Lions getting 16.5 points as an underdog in the BetUS NFL betting odds.

JAY'S PLAY: DETROIT +16.5

(Graded on a scale of 1-4 stars)