The Vikings will head to the Big Apple this weekend to take on the New York Giants.
Let's see who the experts are picking to win the game below:
Vikings 30, Giants 20--Gregg Rosenthal, NFL.com
Noon CT (FOX) | MetLife Stadium (East Rutherford, N.J.)
1) Daniel Jones' playing style figures to give both teams a chance. He could have had four first-half interceptions last week and can be reckless as a runner. But there's no denying he makes very quick decisions and is excellent evading the pass rush. Minnesota is better equipped to take advantage of his mistakes.
2) Despite Dalvin Cook's numbers, the Vikings aren't opening holes in the running game and the Giants' big bodies up front mark the strength of their defense. There should be better matchups with whoever lines up opposite rookie cornerback Deandre Baker, slot corner Grant Haley and the players left standing among the banged-up Giants' linebackers. Rookie Ryan Connelly's torn ACL is a sneaky-big loss for the G-Men.
3) These are the games in which Kirk Cousins shines, at [noon CT] against an undermanned defense. There should be wide-open receivers and very little pass rush to bother him.
Vikings 27, Giants 17--Pete Prisco, CBS Sports
When does the Minnesota passing game get with the times? How about right here? The Giants have issues on defense and that will show up for Kirk Cousins and gang. Daniel Jones will face his biggest defensive challenge here in the Vikings, and I think that will be too much. Minnesota takes it.
Vikings 23, Giants 19--Vinnie Iyer, Sporting News
Let's hope the Vikings look at this game and realize they have great opportunities to get the downfield passing game going like normal, with big passes from Kirk Cousins to both Adam Thielen and Stefon Diggs. The Giants have been better than expected against the run, but you can bet Dalvin Cook will be a handful. It's also a good thing Mike Zimmer has a loaded veteran defense to make things tricky for Daniel Jones.
Vikings 24, Giants 20--Michael David Smith, Pro Football Talk
The Vikings' offense is a mess right now, but the Giants' defense is too, and Minnesota should be able to move the ball well enough to avoid a disaster like last week.
Vikings 23, Giants 13—Mike Florio, Pro Football Talk
The biggest matchup in this game is Kirk Cousins vs. Kirk Cousins, as the embattled quarterback tries to make plays (which he should be worried about doing) while keeping fellow players happy (which he shouldn't be worried about doing). But if the Vikings can run the ball, run the ball, and run the ball against a not-so-good Giants' defense, Cousins won't have to win the battle with himself. This week.
Vikings 24, Giants 23—Staff, Bleacher Report
In their last six quarters under the tutelage of rookie quarterback Daniel Jones on offense, the New York Giants have outscored their opponents 46-6.
With that in mind, the majority of our analysts are happy to take 5.5 points with the Giants hosting the untrustworthy and inconsistent Minnesota Vikings on Sunday.
"The NFL hasn't seen anything like the Danny Dimes phenomenon in a long time — like, a year, at least," Gary Davenport said. "After blasting the hapless Redskins, the Giants are 2-2, and it's fair to wonder what their record would be had they not wasted two games with Eli Manning's corpse under center. Are the Giants good? Not especially. But after watching a 60-minute sputter-fest from the Vikes last week, I'm not sure they are, either. Besides, I was originally going to lay the points with the Vikings, but after my September of suck, I'm in full Costanza mode now. Do the opposite, Jerry!"
Jones could also get a boost from Golden Tate's return from suspension. Tate is the most accomplished pass-catcher on the New York roster, and he could take advantage of the fact Minnesota slot cornerback Mackensie Alexander is being eased back from injury.
Still, while much has been made of Minnesota's struggles in big games against winning teams with Kirk Cousins under center, this is a regular Sunday [noon CT] kickoff against a non-winning team. Under those circumstances in the last calendar year, the Vikes are 7-0 straight up and 6-0-1 against the spread.
So it's easy to see why we lack a unanimous consensus here.
Win Percentage: 59.3%, Average Score: Vikings 23.8, Giants 21.0--*FOX Sports*
FiveThirtyEight's 2015 NFL forecast uses an Elo-based model to calculate each team's chances of advancing to the playoffs and winning Super Bowl 50. Playoff probabilities are based on 20,000 simulations of the season and will update after each game.
