Editor's Note: Looking to get some more advice on these games? Look no further than our group of expert handicappers for selections on Giants-Eagles and Vikings-Packers.
There will be no Sunday Night Football this weekend thanks to the World Series. That doesn’t mean we’re going to be without marquee matchups in Week 8 of the NFL season. We’re going to open up things in Philly with the Eagles playing host to the Giants. Then we head to Green Bay where some fellow named Brett Favre will lead his Vikings into a battle with the Packers in a classic NFC North showdown.
Giants at Eagles – 1:00 p.m. EST, Fox
As if the tension in the City of Brotherly Love wasn’t already high for the Fall Classic, we’ve got this classic rivalry to use as an appetizer.
New York (5-2 straight up, 4-3 against the spread) started the year off with five straight wins, sending its fans into a lathered frenzy. Two consecutive losses, however, have tempered some of the expectations of the Giants.
The G-men’s most recent setback came last Sunday night on national television by falling to Arizona as eight-point home favorites, 24-17.
When you look at last week’s game, you can tell there wasn’t a lot of rhythm to what New York was doing on the field. The Giants only converted four of their 15 third downs and six of their 15 drives ended after just three plays.
So where do you pin the blame for the Giants’ woes? A lot of it can be laid at the feet of Eli Manning. New York’s signal caller has completed 49 percent of his passes for 421 yards with two touchdowns and four picks in his last two starts – both losses, by the way. Compare that to the Manning who opened the year with 64 completion percentage, averaging 242.4 yards per game with 10 scores to just a pair of interceptions.
Not all the fault is Manning’s though. New York’s secondary has been the bane of its existence recently. They have given up 576 yards through the air to the Cardinals and Saints over the last two weeks. That’s scary considering this unit is second in the league by giving up just 158.4 passing YPG.
They’ll need to step it up this week against Philadelphia (4-2 SU, ATS), who is coming off of a 27-17 road victory over the Redskins.
While it doesn’t come as a surprise that the Eagles were able to beat a lowly Washington side, there is reason for concern. The most important thing to note is the fact that the ‘Skins actually outgained Philly 308-262 last Monday night. The lowly Raiders even won the yardage battle (325-283) along with the final score the week before.
Bodog’s sportsbook manager, Richard Gardner, points out that Philadelphia’s recent play has made the betting shops shy of favoring them. “The Eagles inconsistent play and their loss to the Raiders a couple weeks back have mad the public more leery of backing them again and led to the Giants as the one point favorite. In a season where all the double-digit favorites have not only been winning regularly but covering with ease bettors are less forgiving of that stinker that the Eagles put up. Still it is a division game which is always close and the Eagles do have home field advantage so we expect the game will continue as is with the Giants as a small favorite.”
That helps explain why most sportsbooks have installed New York as a one-point road favorite with a total of 44. You can still find Philly as a one-point home “chalk” or as a pick ‘em if you shop around with the same total.
Philly has won and covered the last to meetings with its bitter NFC East rival. The ‘under’ has cashed in on a decent clip as it is 5-1 over the last six battles.
Something else to keep in mind on this battle is that the Eagles are playing on a short week after a Monday Night Football appearance. Philadelphia has been a great wager in this spot, as evidenced by a 15-6 SU and 15-5-1 ATS mark when playing at home after a MNF game.
Vikings at Packers – 4:15 p.m. EST, Fox
Green Bay (4-2 SU, ATS) already had this game marked down on their calendars since it is one of the league’s best rivalries before the season started. Then they really looked forward to this match after Brett Favre unretired again to play with the Vikings. Now, they are desperate to win this contest to get back into the NFC North race.
The Packers were lucky to get the greatest warmup the NFL knows this season, a game with the Browns. Aaron Rodgers sliced them up by completing 15 of his 20 passes for 246 yards and three touchdowns. He was never sacked once in this game, the first time that’s happened to him all season.
Green Bay also holds one of the best defenses in the league right now. They rank fifth in scoring defense (16.0 points per game), 12th in stopping the run (97.5 YPG) and fourth against the pass (174.0 YPG).
The Pack will need their defense to be at their best to face off against Minnesota (6-1 SU, 4-3 ATS).
The Vikings might have been caught in a look-ahead spot for this week after losing 27-17 to Pittsburgh in Week 7. Although, they should have won this game had it not been for a fumble return and interception returned for a touchdown in the fourth quarter.
Favre completed 34 of 51 of his passes for 334 yards, but was directly responsible for both of the Steelers’ fourth quarter scores. Adrian Peterson showed that he’s once again a beast by rushing 18 times for 69 yards and one touchdown last Sunday. Peterson also caught four passes for 60 yards.
Minnesota’s defense had a fantastic day versus the Steelers. They held Pittsburgh to just 259 yards and allowed them to move the chains four times on 12 occasions. And the Vikes held Ben Roethlisberger to just 175 yards passing – the worst performance yardage-wise in a regular season game since Week of 17 of the 2008 campaign against Cleveland.
The sportsbooks have posted Green Bay as a standard three-point home “chalk” with a total of 47. Gamblers can back the Vikings to win outright for a plus-155 return (risk $100 to win $155).
Gardner helps explain what is expected by the good people at Bodog. “With this game we expect it to be a close divisional game although as we saw with their last match up it does not always work out that.”
Would an unblemished Minnesota side made any difference to that line? “ If the Vikings had beat the Steelers and gone in to the game undefeated we would have still have Green Bay as a favorite but we would have come off the key number of three and had it as the Packers by two.”
Regardless of what the line is right now, the Pack just better hope to hold off the dogs for Rodgers. Minnesota was able to sack the Green Bay quarterback eight times for 42 yards in a 30-23 win as a five-point home favorite.
Green Bay’s offensive line will be scrutinized all the more after the aforementioned performance. Center Scott Wells will remain the starter as Jason Spitz will be “out” of the lineup with a bout of lower back spasms. Rookie left tackle T.J. Lang is still slated to start this weekend as Chad Clifton is “out” with an aggravated ankle sprain. But Allen Barbre on the right side of the o-line will be under the microscope the most after he was Jared Allen’s whipping boy in the last meeting in Minnesota.
This series has been a bit on the homer side with the home teams winning four of the last five games SU. However, gamblers should note that the Pack has been 4-2 ATS in that stretch. The ‘over’ is on a 4-1 run as well.
Green Bay has been great in games as a home “chalk” that follow up a tilt they allowed three points in, as evidenced by a 6-2 SU mark. When it comes to covering the spread, on the other hand, the Pack is just 3-5 ATS.
You can reach Judd Hall via e-mail at judd@vegasinsider.com
