The Minnesota Vikings (6-8) and New York Giants (2-12) will meet in Week 16 of the NFL season on Sunday afternoon. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. ET from MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J. The game will broadcast live on FOX.
The Vikings are 2.5-point favorites over the Giants on the spread (Vikings -2.5; -115), with the over/under set at 41.5. Minnesota is a -145 favorite to win outright on the moneyline, while New York is +120 to pull off the upset.
Let's get into my Vikings vs Giants predictions and my NFL Week 16 picks.
Vikings vs Giants Prediction, Picks
- Vikings vs Giants pick: Giants +3 (-120)
My Giants vs Vikings best bet is on New York to cover the spread. Find the best odds by checking our live NFL odds page.
Minnesota Vikings vs NY Giants Odds
| Vikings Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
-2.5 -115 | 41.5 -110o / -110u | -145 |
| Giants Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
+2.5 -105 | 41.5 -110o / -110u | +120 |
Vikings vs Giants Preview
There's one thing we know for certain about these teams: neither are good.
The Vikings won last week in Dallas, but now face their second straight road game, going to New York to face the Giants outdoors.
J.J. McCarthy has performed better of late but is still bad, so I’d rather back the better quarterback in Jaxson Dart in this matchup.
This is also a Luck Rankings game — the Giants have been one of the unluckiest teams this season, and our rankings show that there's about a 20% luck gap in this matchup.
However, this bet really just comes down to the fact that the Giants are better with Dart and they are still playing hard despite being eliminated from playoff contention.
The Vikings have been relying on their defense, but I don’t think it will go that well against the Giants.
Dart has been good against the blitz. His completion percentage hasn't really dropped off against it; meanwhile, his touchdown percentage and efficiency have gone up.
Dart’s passer rating has also gone up about 10 points against the blitz — he's actually making throws against it, not just scrambling.
Minnesota’s defensive coordinator, Brian Flores, will probably be aware of this and throw some wrinkles at Dart, but it’s promising that he's been doing so well against the blitz because that's what the Vikings' defense loves to do more than anything.
As for McCarthy, the Vikings have now won two straight games, but he's still capable of imploding at any point.
He ranks third in average depth of target at 9.4 yards, but his completion percentage over expected (CPOE) is -6.4%, which ranks 49th out of 54 quarterbacks that have played at least 30 plays this season.
Vikings vs Giants Betting Predictions, Spread Analysis
One important factor will be the Vikings’ injuries. Linebacker Jonathan Greenard and safety Josh Metellus are out for this game.
There's a chance they could also be missing both their tackles, with Brian O’Neill and Christian Darrisaw both listed as questionable.
The Giants aren't great, but the expected play style of this game favors them.
When the Vikings play outdoors in December or later, they are 6-11-1 against the spread (ATS) over the last decade, failing to cover the spread by 5.1 points per game, per Evan Abrams.
Granted, J.J. McCarthy wasn't a part of the team for most of that sample, but the QB situation is worse now than it was for most of those games.
Vikings vs Giants Best Bet
- Giants +3 (-120)
Vikings vs Giants Betting Trends
Vikings vs Giants Viewing Info: Channel, Start Time, Streaming
| Location: | MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J. |
| Date: | Sunday, Dec. 21 |
| Time: | 1 p.m. ET |
| TV / Streaming Options: | FOX |
For the latest on NFL injuries, be sure to check out our NFL Injury Report page.
