Handicapping The Minnesota Vikings vs. The New York Giants

• The New York Giants are three-point underdogs to the Minnesota Vikings.
• The Vikings had a 13-4 record while the Giants squeaked into the playoffs on their last chance.
• The spread for this game opened at 2.5 points in favor of the Vikings, but moved to three.

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. - A matchup between a NYG team that barely squeaked into the playoffs and a MIN team with a dominant13-4 record shouldn’t be this close on the online sportsbooks, should it?

New York Giants vs. Minnesota Vikings Odds

• New York Giants +3.0 (-110)
• Minnesota Vikings -3.0 (-110)

That seems to be what the betting public thinks – the game opened with the Vikings as only a 2.5-point home favorite, but bettors have pushed that line to 3.0.

It seems nobody wants to bet against the Giants in the playoffs – with good reason. The team has covered the spread in nine of their last ten playoff road games.

They’ve also covered the spread in their last four road games this season, as well as five of their last six games vs. NFC opponents.

The Vikings, meanwhile, have only covered the spread once in their last five games, and only twice in their last ten games against NFC opponents.

The online gambling markets might be onto something with this very close line – the Giants trend to covering, and the Vikings trend to not covering.

New York Giants vs. Minnesota Vikings O/U Odds

• Over 48.0 (-110)
• Under 48.0 (-110)

The Giants have hit Unders in four of their last five games in the Wildcard round – many of which happened before any player on the team currently was on the team.

The Under has also hit in nine of the Giants’ last 12 playoff appearances, but again, many of those were from more than half a decade ago.

The last six games the Vikings have played in the Wildcard round have all hit the Under. However, the over has hit in six of the last seven games the Vikings have played this season.

In addition, the Over has hit in seven of the Vikings’ last ten games against NFC opponents, so the NFL betting markets should be aware of their potential to explode offensively.

The Minnesota Vikings host the New York Giants in the Wildcard round on Sunday, with kickoff scheduled for 4:40 p.m. EST.