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The NFL has set its playoff schedule for next week’s wild card round games, and the New Orleans Saints are readying for a rematch against the Minnesota Vikings, who eliminated them in 2017.
That was a returning of the favor from their last postseason matchup in 2009, when the Saints beat Minnesota to advance to (and win) the Super Bowl. The Vikings didn’t follow New Orleans’ example, however, instead getting run off the field by the Philadelphia Eagles. Minnesota went on to miss the playoffs the next year with an 8-7-1 record, while the Saints beat that same Eagles team twice by a combined score of 68-21. Makes you think that maybe the wrong team won back in 2017, but let’s not dwell on it.
Per the latest odds from BetMGM, the Saints are 7.5-point home favorites over the Vikings for this latest entry in their long-running series. With an initial over/under of 46.5, that implies a final score in the neighborhood of Saints 28, Vikings 20. In other words, bettors are expecting a competitive game, with New Orleans ultimately coming out on top. We’ll see soon whether Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins can finally have a good game on a big stage, and test how well Minnesota’s running game performs against a staunch Saints defensive front.
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