New York Giants vs Minnesota Vikings NFL Picks Week 17: Still with plenty to play for, the (8-7) New York Giants [+10] and the sports betting odds favorite (11-4) Minnesota Vikings [-10] get set to finish the regular season today with hopefully more than just another win. This NFC intraconference matchup is set to commence at 1:05 PM ET live from the newly named Mall of America Field with FOX taking care of broadcasting duties.
For New York, calling this season a huge disappointment would be a mammoth understatement. "Everyone is down, is sad, is disappointed," head coach Tom Coughlin said. "You have to forget all of that stuff. No one wants to hear about your troubles, OK. What they want to hear about is, 'what are you going to do about it?'"
Making matters worse, the G-Men will be without running back Brandon Jacobs for this one, as he’s out with a knee injury. With RB Ahmad Bradshaw not close to being at one hundred percent, Coughlin indicated this week that the touches would be spread out. The OVER/UNDER for this, New York Giants vs Minnesota Vikings NFL Picks Week 17 game is set at a combined total of 48 points scored.
This also means that quarterback Eli Manning might play a significant role in the offense, as he’ll try to expose a Vikings secondary that’s clearly struggling. The last time we saw Eli Manning and Brett Favre square up against one another dates back to the NFC title game two years ago.
"I always use the Giants as an example. A couple years ago, everyone had written those guys off, probably including themselves," said Favre, who was then the heart and soul of the Green Bay Packers. "We played them early in the year.
"If you told me after that game, it was the second or third game in New York, if you told me after that game. First of all that the Giants would make the playoffs, I'd say you're crazy. If you told me second of all that they would make it to the Super Bowl, I believe I would have had you admitted. But they did."
The Vikes come into this season clincher with plenty of issues of their own. After being one of the best teams in the league, Minnesota has slowed down significantly, losing two in a row and three of its last five games. In fact, in many people’s eyes, the Vikings are headed towards a very early playoff exit if things don’t turn around quickly.
Due to their recent woes, the best the Vikings can hope now is to earn the second seed and a first-round bye. Minnesota would have to beat New York today, along with a Cowboys win over the Eagles in order to secure the second seed in the NFC playoff standings.
Many like their chances of finishing the season with a “W” as Favre and company have been perfect at home this season. Minnesota is the only NFC team to have a perfect home mark. If they can finish it off, this would be first time that this team finished unbeaten at home since the 1998 season.
"We are 7-0 at home right now and the Metrodome is a great environment," coach Brad Childress said. "We want to make sure that we take care of that home. It is a great advantage. That is why people are fighting to get that home field advantage."
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