BLOOMINGBURG. NY – The NFL’s second season kicked off yesterday with an interesting scheduling twist, as the weekend’s games were segregated by conference. 
I’m not really a fan of it because football fans don’t get the opportunity to play “what if” by waiting 24 hours to get an idea of what the following week’s match ups are. In any event, a champion will be crowned in a little less than a month and today I’m giving some advice on how to proceed with your wallet in gambling on the NFC.
Minnesota Vikings @ New Orleans Saints, 1:05
Everybody knows what happened the last time these two teams met in the playoffs and the networks won’t let us forget. That was then and this is now. Case Keenum threw that Minneapolis Miracle ball and now the Vikings have Kirk Cousins slinging the pigskin. Sure, Cousins was on a nice little run for a spell but he shrinks under the lights and in big spots as is well documented.
The marriage of Drew Brees and Sean Payton has produced one Super Bowl trophy, even with the most recent bad luck the past two playoffs. It’s hard to measure; are the Saints angry and chomping at the bit and salivating for revenge? When does the shelf life expire on this roster and their ability to climb that elusive last hurdle? What I do know is this today: the running game will be in full effect for both teams as the Saints and Vikings know a thing or two about running the ball and melding running backs in the passing game. Hence the labeling of this as my best bet of the day.
The one-two punch for the respective backfields will keep this UNDER the very inflated 49.5 points. I know how well the Saints enjoy home field and normally boasts one of football’s greater home biases but better than a touchdown handicap against a very good team – even with the aforementioned Cousins – is too much to back. I’ll take a back door garbage time cover here. Vikings +7.5
Seattle Seahawks @ Philadelphia Eagles, 4:40
Philly fans, by way of their team winning in the worst division, will once again dream of eating horsesh!t in the streets with another Super Bowl victory. You just can’t make this stuff up. I say it often but winning on the road in the NFL ain’t easy. 
The Seahawks have debunked the theory in 2019 with a 7-1 away record and with five contests in the eastern time zone. These teams met in Philly several weeks ago (Seattle won 17-9) and the Vegas number hasn’t moved, even with the Eagles still hobbled and Seattle losing three of the last four, while their running back injuries mount. The lines in the first contest were Seattle favored by 1.5 and a 46 O/U while the only difference today is a 45 O/U. A very tough game to predict but again I have a stronger feeling about the total.
Both of these teams can be exploited in the passing game. Carson Wentz has performed extremely well lately albeit against struggling division foes. Russell Wilson is Russell Wilson. The quarterbacks put up some gaudy numbers in what will be the most entertaining game of the weekend. The tables flip from the 17-9 score in the regular season. We may threaten the over at the half and OVER 45 should be a layup. As for the game itself, asking the Hawks to snap out of their funk is easier than asking Wentz to complete passes to a bunch of nobodies at wide receiver even with Doug Pedersen’s schemes. Seattle -1.5
That’s it for me, comment below and come back tomorrow for Monday Morning QB, Junoir Blaber.
