The Minnesota Vikings look to improve on last season's 7-10 record as they travel east to face the New York Giants in Week 1 on Sunday afternoon. Minnesota lost first-round draft pick, quarterback J.J. McCarthy, to a knee injury in the preseason and he'll be out until 2025. The Giants, 6-11 last year, debut the No. 6 overall pick, dynamic wide receiver Malik Nabers in their season opener. The Vikings have won four of the past five matchups, but lost the most recent contest to the Giants, a 31-24 New York victory in January 2023's Wild Card Playoffs.
Kickoff from MetLife Stadium is set for 1 p.m. ET. The Vikings are 1.5-point road favorites in the latest Minnesota vs. New York odds via SportsLine consensus, while the over/under for total points is 41. Before making any Vikings vs. Giants picks, you need to see the NFL predictions and betting advice from the computer simulation model at SportsLine.
The model, which simulates every NFL game 10,000 times, is up well over $7,000 for $100 players on top-rated NFL picks since its inception. The model enters Week 1 of the 2024 NFL season on an incredible 181-129 run on top-rated NFL picks that dates back to the 2017 season. It is also on a 35-21 roll on top-rated NFL picks since Week 7 of 2022.
The model also ranked in the top 10 on NFLPickWatch four of the past six years on straight-up NFL picks and beat more than 94% of CBS Sports Football Pick'em players four times during that span. Anyone who has followed it is WAY UP!
Now, the model has set its sights on Vikings vs. Giants and just locked in its picks and NFL Week 1 predictions. You can head to SportsLine now to see the model's picks. Here are several NFL odds and betting lines for spread, money line and over/under:
- Giants vs. Vikings spread: Vikings -1.5
- Giants vs. Vikings over/under: 41 points
- Giants vs. Vikings money line: Vikings -122, Giants +102
- Giants vs. Vikings picks: See picks at SportsLine
Why the Vikings can cover
Wide receiver Justin Jefferson will be the best player on the field on Sunday and a handful for the Giants to slow down. The Vikings star receiver just received a four-year, $140 million contract this offseason and looks to stay healthy in 2024 as he was unable to last season. Limited to only 10 games, Jefferson still managed to top the 1,000 yard mark (68-1074-5) despite poor quarterback play after Kirk Cousins was lost for the season in the middle of last year.
Now piloting the Vikings is Sam Darnold, the former No. 3 overall pick by the Jets in the 2018 draft. With no significant competition behind him due to J.J. McCarthy's season-ending injury, Darnold will look to revitalize his career with a big season in Minnesota. He has never played more than 13 games in a season, nor thrown for more than 20 touchdowns in a campaign. The Vikings will need him to overperform to exceed expectations in the tough NFC North Division. See which team to pick here.
Why the Giants can cover
Saquon Barkley is gone, which means New York is starting over at running back with free agent signee Devin Singletary. Last year with Houston, Singletary rushed for 898 yards and four touchdowns and should be a solid stopgap for an organization that was seemingly surprised to lose its best offensive weapon. But quarterback Daniel Jones returns after missing most of 2023 due to injury and looks to bring back the magic he showcased two years ago in leading New York to a playoff berth.
In 2022, Jones played in 16 regular season games, throwing for 3,205 yards and 15 scores, with seven more touchdowns on the ground. Last season, the former No. 6 overall pick was healthy for six games, throwing two touchdowns with six interceptions. This is a big year for him as another poor showing will likely force the Giants to move on. Jones finally has a big time wide receiver in his arsenal: Malik Nabers from LSU was drafted as the No. 6 pick in April's draft and should be targed early and often in New York's offense. See which team to pick here.
How to make Vikings vs. Giants picks
The model has simulated Minnesota vs. New York 10,000 times and the results are in. It is leaning Under on the point total, and it also says one side of the spread hits more than 50% of the time. You can only see the model's Vikings vs. Giants pick at SportsLine.
So who wins Giants vs. Vikings on Sunday, and which side of the spread hits well over 50% of the time? Visit SportsLine right now to see which side of the Giants vs. Vikings spread you should be all over Sunday, all from the model on a 181-129 roll on its top-rated NFL picks, and find out.
