The only certainty surrounding the matchup between the Minnesota Vikings and Carolina Panthers is that each team will be desperate to avoid an 0-4 start. Check out the odds and our prediction for Sunday’s game in Charlotte.
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Vikings vs. Panthers Betting Lines, Start Time, and More
All odds from DraftKings Sportsbook.
- Spread: Vikings -3.5
- Moneyline: Vikings (-180); Panthers (+150)
- Over/Under: 45.5
- Game time: 1 p.m. ET
- Location: Bank of America Stadium
- Channel: FOX
Vikings vs. Panthers Prediction
After three narrow defeats to begin this season, the Vikings will be looking to get in the win column this weekend. But they’ll have to face a Panthers’ team that, while not as competitive in their games as the Vikings, does not want to give new head coach Frank Reich an 0-4 record to start his tenure in Carolina.
The playing status of No. 1 overall pick Bryce Young remains uncertain due to an ankle injury that kept him out of last week’s loss at Seattle. Backup Andy Dalton was effective, throwing for 361 yards and two scores to help keep the Panthers in the game into the fourth quarter.
But Dalton also threw the ball a career-high 58 times. If that happens again, it’s safe to assume the Panthers aren’t winning this game.
Whoever takes snaps for Carolina will probably try to find Adam Thielen more than ever. Thielen, who spent the first nine seasons of his career with the Vikings, had 11 catches for 145 yards and a touchdown against the Seahawks. He will be interested in having another strong showing this week as he meets his former team for the first time.
For Minnesota, their biggest issue has been mistakes. They’ve committed an NFL-high nine turnovers through the first three games of this season. Fortunately for Minnesota, Carolina has just two takeaways on the season.
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Kirk Cousins leads all quarterbacks in passing yards (1,075) and touchdown passes (nine). But he also has more pass attempts (138) than any quarterback in the league, putting him on pace to throw almost 800 passes this season.
The good news is that Minnesota should have running back Cam Akers available following his trade last week from the Rams. That should provide a little more balance to an offense with the fewest rush attempts in the league (50).
Of the two teams, Minnesota has been much more competitive than Carolina through the first three weeks. But Carolina’s strength on defense so far has been against the pass, where the Panthers rank ninth in pass yards allowed. The Panthers also have 10 sacks, so applying pressure should not be a problem in this game.
It seems unfathomable that this Minnesota team, with all the success it had last season, could really start out 0-4. But until the Vikings clean up their mistakes, it’s also hard to back them giving more than a field goal on the road against anyone.
The Vikings should do enough to get a win. The Panthers should do enough to cover the spread.
Best Bet: Panthers +3.5 (-108 at DraftKings SportsBook)