Is this a good thing or a bad thing?
For the second week in a row, the Minnesota Vikings will go into a road contest against a 2-7 team from the AFC South as a significant favorite.
Our friends at FanDuel have opened up the betting lines for Week 11 around the NFL, and the Vikings start the week as a 6.5-point favorite over the Tennessee Titans. The over/under for the game has opened at 39.5 points, which is one of the lower totals we’ve seen for a Vikings game this year.
The Titans are currently tied for the worst point differential in the AFC at -83 and have won just once in four tries at Nissan Stadium this season. Their record dropped to 2-7 on the year with their 27-17 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 10 and they have the look of a team that’s in rebuilding mode. The Titans have second-year quarterback Will Levis back at the helm after he dealt with some injuries but he’s struggled mightily at times this season.
Of course, all of those bad numbers for the Titans might not matter if Sam Darnold can’t cure his sudden propensity for turning the football over at the worst possible times. Against Jacksonville, Darnold turned the ball over three times for the second consecutive week, including a pair of interceptions in the end zone as the Vikings failed to score an offensive touchdown against the Jaguars. Had it not been for the right leg of newly-acquired kicker Parker Romo, the Vikings would have been in line to suffer what would have been a pretty embarrassing loss.
If the Vikings defeat the Titans on Sunday, they will complete a four-game sweep of the AFC South division, having already defeated Houston, Indianapolis, and Jacksonville. This is the Vikings’ third straight game against an AFC South opponent and the middle game of a three-game road trip that will conclude in Chicago in Week 12.
This game will be broadcast on the CBS family of networks, with kickoff slated for Sunday at noon Central time.
Once again, the Vikings enter a game against an opponent that, on paper, they should overwhelm and cruise to an easy victory against. However, as we saw on full display in Week 10, NFL games aren’t played on paper, and if the Vikings are going to live up to their status as road favorites in this one they’re going to need to get their act together in a hurry.