The National Football League offers a pair of Monday Night Football games this week. The two games have teams with playoff hopes and opponents with only spoiler roles left for their 2024 campaigns.
The action stats at 5:00 p.m. Pacific Time when the Minnesota Vikings host the Chicago Bears. Thirty minutes later, the Atlanta Falcons will kick off against the Las Vegas Raiders at Allegiant Stadium.
The Vikings got a boost yesterday when the 11-game winning streak of the Detroit Lions, the longest in their history, was snapped on their home field by the Buffalo Bills, 48-42. Tonight, Minnesota has an opportunity to catch the Lions in the talented NFC North Division with a victory over the only team in their division without a winning record.
Six weeks ago, you couldn’t have blamed the Atlanta Falcons for beginning preparations for the playoffs. Atlanta won six of their first nine games with losses only against quality teams, namely the Pittsburgh Steelers, Kansas City Chiefs and Seattle Seahawks. They also had beaten their primary competition in their division, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, twice in head-to-head meetings.
Their bulge in the standings in one of the NFL’s weakest divisions seemed secure … until they played their next four games and lost them all. While the Falcons were taking a dive, the once second place Buccaneers were finding their stride and have now won six of their most recent eight games to take over first place in the NFC South Division.
The Buccaneers won again yesterday, tallying 40 points against a Los Angeles Chargers team that came into the week having allowed the fewest points in the league.
So, now what?
Do the Falcons fold or are they ready to regroup and not fall two games back of the Buccaneers … which would be the case with a loss in Las Vegas tonight. I think the Falcons win, but laying the bloated line that has grown as high as six points does not appear to be a sure winner in a city where everyone is looking to win and few do.
As for the Vikings, they now have a chance to catch the team that has been getting the headlines all season long. For much of this season, the Lions were considered the best team in the league, now they have serious challengers for that distinction from the Buffalo Bills and Philadelphia Eagles.
A team with a record as good as the Eagles coming into this week and looking to match their 12-2 season mark with a win tonight, is Minnesota. Somehow, they have not risen to the level of appreciation as a handful of other special teams with records not as good as the one Sam Darnold has engineered for Head Coach Kevin O’Connell this year.
What we have on display tonight at US Bank Stadium is one team needing a win to move into a first-place tie against an opponent with nothing left but to disrupt their plans.
Know who has the advantage?
The team out to avenge a bad season without the pressure of needing to win. That’s why Chicago winning tonight in Minnesota and snapping a seven-game losing streak is a real possibility, and sending their backers to the payout window after the game is the clear percentage side of this proposition.
Qoxhi Picks: Chicago Bears (+7) over Minnesota Vikings