Minnesota Vikings at San Diego Chargers (-8.5), Total 41.5 |
The Minnesota Vikings put the Brett Favre era in the past and move ahead with another veteran quarterback in the 2011 NFL season opener against the San Diego Chargers inside Qualcomm Stadium.
Minnesota has been getting some early attention from bettors, as the opening spread of 9.5 points has fallen to 8.5 currently, while the total is standing firm at 41.5. The Vikings tallied a 35-17 win as seven-point home underdogs in the last meeting between these two teams on Nov. 4, 2007
Donovan McNabb will be starting for his second team in as many years, getting dumped by the Washington Redskins after throwing 14 touchdowns and a career-high 15 interceptions in 2010.
“He’s been great with his teammates,” Vikings head coach Leslie Frazier stated. “He’s done a great job pick up a new offense.”
McNabb doesn’t have to do things on his own in this offense, as running back Adrian Peterson is able to carry the load, leading the league with 5,782 yards and 52 touchdowns over the last four seasons.
The former Oklahoma Sooners star gained 1,298 yards and scored 12 touchdowns during the 2010 season. He will also look forward to getting another crack at the Chargers, as he ran for a league record 296 yards on 30 carries in the last meeting.
Minnesota is 3-10 ATS as an underdog and the ‘under’ is 7-6 in those contests.
San Diego knows its biggest hurdle each and every season under head coach Norv Turner is trying to overcome another slow start. The Chargers started last year with a 2-5 record and missed the playoffs despite winning seven of their final nine games.
It’s been a problematic trend for quite some time now, including 2-3 records in 2009 and 2008.
Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers has turned into one of the finest throwers in all of football, coming off a season of throwing for a career-high 4,710 passing yards and 30 touchdowns with 13 interceptions. All of the numbers led to the offense leading the NFL in yards a year ago.
“Ultimately, I think you’re measured by winning football games and we’ve won a lot of games, but we’ve fallen short,” the former NC State quarterback stated. “That’s the ultimate goal here is to lead this team to a championship.”
He has some major weapons and none bigger than tight end Antonio Gates in the middle of the field, as he led the team with 10 receiving touchdowns in 2010, while picking up 50 catches for 782 yards.
Vincent Jackson will be in uniform for the entire season, as he came off a strenuous year of holding out and suffering through injuries a year ago.
The two teams have split 10 all-time meetings and the Chargers are a dominating 35-17 in their last 52 games as a home favorite of 3.5 to 10 points.
