Coming into the 2016 season the New York Giants seemed like the safest bet on NFL futures within the NFC East. Despite the fact that the Giants finished the 2015 season with a 6-10 record, they seemed like the team most likely to win a division that has changed hands for the last 11 years. But now 4 weeks into the season the Giants don’t find themselves as the frontrunners in the East, instead that honor belongs to the Philadelphia Eagles. In Week 4 the Eagles will have a bye week, so the Giants are faced with a pristine opportunity to try to take the division out from underneath the Eagles.
New York had a similar opportunity last weekend when they faced their NFC East rivals, the Washington Redskins. Unfortunately for New York, the Giants failed to cash in on such a lucrative opportunity and some G-men even shed a few tears. Since they missed last weekend’s opportunity there will be added pressure on New York to come up big this Monday night football. But the team New York is facing isn’t exactly a pushover. In fact, the top sportsbooks have the Giants pegged as the underdogs; take a look.
Week 4 – Monday the 3rd of October
Giants +5 (-115) 43 (-110) +185
Vikings -5 (-105) 43 (-110) -215
If the Eagles have taken the NFC East by storm, then the Vikings have done the same in the North. While the Vikings are no stranger to success, the way they have been winning games in 2016 is a new approach for Minnesota. The philosophy on defense is the same; stop the run and hit ‘em hard when you can. But in 2016 were seeing something new from the Vikings. For the last decade or so Minnesota has established a reputation around the league as having one of the best running games in the entire NFL.
No doubt a large part of that reputation can be attributed to the fact that they have Adrian Peterson in the backfield. But since Peterson is aging, and is now on injured reserve the Vikings have adopted a new strategy as well as a new quarterback. Sam Bradford was brought in 8 days before the season started due to Terry Bridgewater’s injury. But the trade turned out to be great for both sides; the Eagles are loving Carson Wentz and Vikings fans can’t believe how well Bradford has been playing.
In his first start Bradford played better than two-time MVP Aaron Rodgers. This past weekend Bradford played significantly better than the reigning MVP, Cam Newton. Bradford is crossing off MVP’s like it’s no big deal, and this weekend he’ll face off against another, albeit Manning is a Super Bowl MVP. Bradford has certainly proven himself worthy of your bet on NFL games this past few weeks; will the young star be able to make it three in a row?
If you’re prone to gamble on MNF, this game might prove difficult to predict. However, the totals line seems pretty foreseeable. Both the Vikings and the Giants are averaging around 20 points per game. But defensively Minnesota is only giving up an average of 13.3 points, while the Giants are giving up 20.3 points. With those figures in mind, picking under 43 for the totals line might be the safest bet on NFL’s Monday Night Football.