Minnesota Vikings vs New York Jets Point Spread Picks

The NY Jets will travel to London to take on the undefeated Vikings. The Jets finally have Aaron Rodgers back at QB, but the offense has yet to hit its stride through four games. They were held to nine points last week at home vs. Denver, but a missed FG late denied them a win. The Jets defense has allowed just 10ppg in their previous three games. Denver's strategy against Aaron Rodgers was blitz-heavy, and it succeeded as they blitzed Rodgers on nearly half of his attempts. Minnesota averages better than a 50% blitz rate, so you know the Jets are scheming to succeed. WR Garrett Wilson has done better than any NFL receiver against a blitz, and he could be a considerable factor. It won't be easier for the Minnesota offense. The interior line of the Jets has a massive edge on the Minnesota interior line. There is rain projected in the forecast. The Vikings have won and covered all four games to start the season, and an NFL team that starts the season 4-0 and 4-0 ATS covers just 41.9% in Game 5, and that falls to 31.8% if the line is more than -2. Make the play on the NY Jets.

Minnesota has gotten its offense in gear after its inexplicable 27-6 loss to Buffalo. The Vikings have averaged 27 points their last three games, including wins at Philadelphia and at home against Arizona. Latavius Murray saved the day for the Vikings by rushing for 155 yards on 24 carries and scored the first rushing touchdown of the season for the Vikes. Adam Thielen had 11 catches for 123 yards and Kirk Cousins went 24-of-34 for 233 yards as the Minnesota offense was clicking on all cylinders. New York won its second in a row after enduring a three-game losing streak, but the wins came against Denver and Indianapolis and the Jets will face a stiffer test this week on both sides of the ball. Rookie QB Sam Darnold was 24-of-30 for 280 yards with two touchdowns and an interception against the Colts, who actually outyarded the Jets 428-374. The Vikings have covered seven of their last 10 road games and the Jets are just 1-5 ATS their last six games after scoring at least 30 points their previous game. The Vikings are favored by just a field goal and they got a push by most accounts in their 10-point win over the Cardinals. Play the Vikings on the moneyline.

The Minnesota Vikings don't look at all like the team that went to the NFC Championship last season. Brett Favre looks old and tired and unmotivated. On top of it, his focus on football is going to be tough with the negative reports and allegations surrounding Jen Sterger and others in the latest sports sex scandal. The league is investigating and Favre faces a possible suspension if allegations prove to be true. The lack of Sydney Rice has really hurt Favre has he has had no one to stretch the field. In comes Randy Moss who should provide that deep threat once again. But, will Favre and Moss be on the same page in game one? The Jets have been all about defense since the arrival of Rex Ryan. They were forced to win low-scoring games to keep Sanchez from handing games away. Their defense has been its usual self, allowing just 15.3 points per game. Only one team has gotten more than 14. And now they get Darelle Revis and Calvin Pace back. The difference in the Jets this year is the maturation of Mark Sanchez. Sanchez has yet to throw an interception this season to go with his eight TD passes. The Jets have scored an average of 31 points per game in their last three. They rank 4th in the league in scoring while Minnesota, averaging 14.3 points per game, is second to last (only ahead of the Carolina Panthers). Sanchez has not made the bonehead mistakes of a rookie and now he adds another weapon as Santonio Holmes is back from suspension. If that isn't enough, LaDanaian Tomlinson has discovered the fountain of youth and looks like the back we saw three years ago. The quickness is back and as a result, he is averaging over 6 yards per carry. The Jets’ OL hasn’t allowed a sack in the last two games. The Jets, once a defensive-only team, are now finding weapons on offense and have that "Super" look to them early on. When the Vikings have taken to the road after a home game under Brad Childress, they are just 5-15 straight-up. Under Rex Ryan, the Jets are 9-3 straight-up after a game in which they allowed 14 or fewer points. The public is pretty split on this game with 55% on the Vikings and they are favoring the OVER. My computer prediction (not an official pick) likes the Vikings to cover the spread, losing 22-18. The computer is basically saying this 4.5 points spread is right. I lean a bit towards the Jets covering it but it isn't worth a pick in my opinion. While the Jets have a decent chance of convering this spread, they could easily win a closer game in the 20-17 range. I think the value here lies on the Jets to win this game outright as I believe they find a way to do that, even if it remains close. So, I'm on the Jets moneyline tonight.