One of the marquee matchups in week 5 of the NFL season is the game between the Houston Texans and Minnesota Vikings, which will be played at the Vikings new home, the U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis. The game will take place on Sunday and is scheduled to start at 1 PM. ET.
Let’s get into the odds on this game and then I’ll give my favorite pick.
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Vikings vs Texans Betting Lines
- Houston Texans +6.5
- Minnesota Vikings -6.5
- Over/Under 40
My Pick
At 3-1, the Texans are tied for the second best record in the AFC, behind the defending champion Denver Broncos, 
who are the only undefeated team in the conference.
Last week, the Texans were able to get a win against the Tennessee Titans a week after being embarrassed by the short-handed New England Patriots. Now, they will be trying to build on that momentum with a big win against the surprising Vikings.
At 4-0, the undefeated Minnesota Vikings have been one of the biggest surprises in the NFL this season. After winning the NFC North and making the playoffs last season, the team came into this season with a lot of high expectations, but after a preseason injury to quarterback Teddy Bridgewater, it didn’t seem likely that the team was going to do well this season.
To make matters worse, the Vikings also lost running back Adrian Peterson to a serious injury, but you wouldn’t know the team was without its best offensive weapons with the way they have been playing.
Quarterback Sam Bradford, who is playing for his third team in three seasons, has exceeded expectations and has done a great job running Minnesota’s offense. However, the real heroes for the Vikings has been their defense, which has been playing extremely well so far.
Minnesota’s defense is holding opponents to 12.5 points per game, which is the second best mark in the league, and they will create a lot of problems for the Texans offense which is led by Brock Osweiler, who is in his first full season as a starter.
The Texans won the AFC South last season and so far, they look like the front runners to win the division again. However, the team will have to do so without their best player J.J. Watt, who is expected to miss the rest of the season after undergoing back surgery.
Defensively, the Texans are one of the best units in the NFL, but their offense has been a liability in a couple of games. DeAndre Hopkins, the team’s best receiver, wasn’t involved on the offense as much as he would have liked in their last game, so look for him to have a big game against Minnesota.
Final Word…
With two good defenses squaring up, this has the makings of a low scoring game. The Texans will hang tough with the Vikings, but Minnesota will pull of the win and cover the spread.
Play: Vikings -6.5
Tagged With : Houston Texans • Minnesota Vikings • NFL Betting • NFL week 5