Who will win the clash of the opening winners?
Two winners from the first day of play now meet on Monday with the Philadelphia Eagles and the Minnesota Vikings. Both were convincing all along the line, whereby the Egales made it unnecessarily tense at the end.
Nevertheless, their 38 points were the second-best score of the first weekend. The Vikings, on the other hand, put up the second-best score in the opposite direction – namely in defence. They allowed just seven points against Aaron Rodgers and his Packers.
Although the Eagles were a bit careless with their big lead in the fourth quarter, we still see them as the favourites against the Vikings. Jalen Hurts and his offence were simply too convincing, and the running offence in particular must be highlighted.
216 rushing yards is an excellent number and therefore our forecast for Philadelphia vs. Minnesota is also a home win for the Eagles. We don’t expect them to win by too much, but we do expect a significant improvement in their defence.
Kick-off of the second of two Monday Night Games in Week 2 is on Tuesday night at 02:30 in Philadelphia. The game can be watched live on DAZN.
Philadelphia Eagles – Statistics & current form
35 points conceded and still won. That’s the amazing conclusion of the first matchday from the Eagles point of view. In previous years they would probably have lost such a match, but in 2022 everything seems different. After Dak Prescott’s exit from the Cowboys, they are now even considered the clear favourites for the NFC East title.
Odds of up to 1.66 are a must for long-term bets. In the short term, however, this also applies to bets on a success against the Vikings. There are several reasons for this.
Defence better than game day 1 says
The Eagles’ defense has already impressed for long stretches of the Lions game, including last Sunday. Only in the first and last minutes of the game were they briefly sleepy. If we take those out of the equation, they only allowed 14 points.
Even that seems like a lot against a team like the Lions, but they will surely show this season that it wasn’t all Philly’s fault. We expect a significant improvement from their defence against Minnesota, which has improved enough with Reddick and Gardner-Johnson.
Already last year they allowed only 22.6 points and this value should even be undercut in 2022. We expect them to hold the Vikings to sub-21.5 points.
Rushing Game should dominate this league
216 rushing yards on Game Day 1 with a whopping four rushing touchdowns. No other rushing offense scored more points on Game Day 1 than Philadelphia’s. And that should continue against Minnesota with this personnel.
Miles Sanders is fit again, Jalen Hurts is one of the most mobile quarterbacks in the NFL and Kenneth Gainwell is a backup runner who would be the No. 1 on many other teams. So for Eagles vs. Vikings a bet on Philadelphia is our clear favourite betting option.
Key Players:
QB: Jalen Hurts
RB: Miles Sanders
WR: A.J. Brown
TE: Dallas Goedert
K: Jake Elliott
Minnesota Vikings – stats & recent form
Just as we raved about the Eagles’ running offense, we rave about the Vikings defense. It’s hard to believe that last year’s average of 25.1 points conceded was among the weakest ten in the NFL.
But against the Packers, that defence was all there. They didn’t hold Aaron Rodgers to a single touchdown at the end and even picked off an interception from him – a very rare experience against the MVP.
Mostly a little weaker against the run
If they can pull off this defensive performance again, they’ll be in with a chance against Philly. However, Minnesota traditionally has a harder time against strong running teams. With 130.7 yards allowed per game, they were the seventh weakest defence against the run in the preseason.
So the matchup with the Eagles doesn’t really suit Minnesota. Another small point in Philadelphia’s favour on Monday. Plus, Minnesota’s offense isn’t quite on the level of Philly’s offense either.
Offense still with question marks
Because if we subtract Justin Jefferson against the Packers, their passing offense only gets 93 more yards. Yes, Jefferson exists, but if a team can take him out of the game, it’s going to be tight for the Vikings.
So they are a bit too predictable. With Eagles vs Vikings, the odds on Philly are also so good that we don’t need a big handicap to get great value. Betting on Philadelphia -3 is enough to do that.
Key Players:
QB: Kirk Cousins
RB: Dalvin Cook
WR: Justin Jefferson
TE: Irv Smith Jr.
K: Greg Joseph
Philadelphia Eagles – Minnesota Vikings Head-to-head comparison / H2H record
Three of the last five meetings went to Minnesota. However, the Hurts vs. Cousins clash is set for the first time on Monday and we’re giving the edge to the youngster.
He still needs to improve his passing game, but if he and his team keep running like this, it won’t really be necessary. Nevertheless, we are sure that he will also score his first touchdown through the air against Minnesota.
Thus, the odds on Philly, both in terms of win bets and points scored, are to be taken advantage of in Philadelphia vs. Minnesota. Rushing touchdowns can also be bet on at some bookmakers, where we strongly recommend Over 2.5 as a number for Philly as well.
Philadelphia Eagles – Minnesota Vikings Tip
The excellent running game of the Eagles against the strong defence of the Vikings. However, we have already explained above that this one is only half as good against the run. That does make the favourite status move a little more clearly to Philadelphia’s side.
With Eagles vs. Vikings, a bet on Philadelphia -3 is our No.1 betting recommendation. Win bets in combination with subpar points also represent a bettable option.
Alternatively, pure sub-points are also a good option. Why. Because the Vikings have a strong defence and the Eagles’ is also much stronger than it appeared on the first day of the game. In the duel Philadelphia Eagles vs. Minnesota Vikings the betting odds for Under 49.5 points are in the range of 2.00.
