Vikings open as early favorites over Colts

For the third week in a row, the Minnesota Vikings enter a week of NFL action with at least an opportunity to wrap up their first NFC North division title since 2017. The first two times, it didn’t happen. . .one because they didn’t get the extra help they needed and the other because they lost. The people that set the betting odds seem to think that the third time will be the charm for the purple.

Our friends at the DraftKings Sportsbook have installed the Vikings as a 4.5-point favorite over the Indianapolis Colts in the lines that have just opened.

The Colts have had a rough go of things this year, sitting with a mark of 4-8-1 on the season and having fired former head coach Frank Reich a few weeks back, hiring former All-Pro center Jeff Saturday to replace him. The Colts have gone 1-3 since Saturday took over, including a 54-19 drubbing by Dallas in Week 13. They’ll be coming off of their bye week as they head to U.S. Bank Stadium.

The over/under for this one is set at 47 points in the early phases. That seems to be sort of middle-of-the-road for what we’ve seen for most Vikings games this year. Then again, with Ed Donatell’s defense taking the field for the Vikings, who knows how many points the Vikings will allow? Hopefully the offense will be able to keep pace.

Do you think the Vikings will justify their status as favorites and (finally) nail down the NFC North on Saturday, folks?