The Green Bay Packers are hosting the Minnesota Vikings at Lambeau Field for Monday Night Football. As if there was anymore fuel needed for the fire, ESPN's expert odds makers have decided to weigh in on what they believe the betting lines might do leading up to kickoff.
Chad Millman, the Editor in Chief of ESPN The Magazine, does a weekly column where he asks some of the experts in Vegas about the lines for big games. Considering regular season games don't get much bigger than Monday Night Football, his team analyzed the Minnesota Vs. Green Bay line in Monday's column (ESPN Insider subscription required).
The game opened with the Packers favored to win by 13 points and the total score between both teams to equal an even 51 points. This likely won't make Minnesota fans happy -- especially those hoping for the upset -- but ESPN's current indications show the Packers covering the large spread.
"It's true that Minnesota put a scare into Green Bay already this season, and I rarely lay double digits in the NFL, especially in a divisional matchup, but I am confident Green Bay will take care of business tonight. Consider that the Packers average 35 points per game, and add in a few more because this is a home game. So figure Minnesota needs to score at least 24 points to cover, which seems unlikely to me. Lastly, I don't play totals until later in season, if at all, but the over is a solid play here."
The over is indeed an easy bet considering the game will probably end up being a shootout. It doesn't seem crazy that the Vikings might score more than 24 points, however, considering they scored 27 in the first match-up and the Packers defense hasn't looked impenetrable.