NFL Betting :
Saints Will Roll Vikings

Minnesota Vikings @ New Orleans Saints
Football : United States : NFC Championship Game
Sunday, 24th January 2010 - Kickoff 7pm ET
Betting Line : Saints -3.5

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We’ve past two rounds of the NFL playoffs and one more round brings us to the Super Bowl odds. But before we reach that point, we have a set of Championship games in which some teams will need to play their best and others will need some buzz luck to get ahead.

In the NFC, we’ll see a matchup of the two best teams from the regular season.

The New Orleans Saints and Minnesota Vikings were clearly head and shoulders above everyone and now we’ll see them clash in what should be a classic. The Saints started the season 13-0 while the Vikings started the year 10-1. Both teams stumbled a little bit down the stretch as the Saints lost their final three regular season games while the Vikings lost three of their final five outings.

Nonetheless, both teams were recharged after a bye week and both teams blew out their opponents in the divisional round. That sets up what should be a high-octane contest in New Orleans this weekend.

The Minnesota Vikings are in an interesting spot this week. Down the stretch of the season, the Saints lost their final three games and really opened the door for the Vikings to steal away home field advantage. In the end, the Vikings also lost three of five down the stretch and couldn’t take the top seed away.

That’s an issue because the Vikings now have to travel on the road for this contest instead of playing in their own backyard. That’s a big deal because at home this year, the Vikings were a perfect 9-0. On the road, they are just 4-4.

This is a tough spot for the Vikings, who haven’t seen much production from running back Adrian Peterson recently. Peterson will be the x-factor on Sunday but keep in mind that he hasn’t recorded a 100-yard rushing effort in any of his last eight games.

The Betting Vedict :

If the Vikings don’t have the balance between the run and the pass, they aren’t going to win this game.

New Orleans is one of the best teams in football and they have pummeled a number of good teams.

The Saints will be licking their chops at the thought of picking apart that feeble Vikings secondary and as long as they contain Peterson, then the New Orleans Saints will win by double-digits.

The Statistics :

The Pick :

Saints 34, Vikings 17

HANDICAP BETTING :

Take the NEW ORLEANS SAINTS to win and cover.