Vikings vs. Falcons Point Spread: NFL Week 9 Odds, Prediction
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Edgar Chaput
It was a twisted, cruel pre-Halloween Sunday afternoon in week 8 for the Minnesota Vikings and Atlanta Falcons. The frustrations almost exclusively had to do with quarterbacking. Minnesota vanquished arch-rivals the Packers 24-10 but lost Kirk Cousins in the process due to a torn ACL. The Falcons not only fell to the Titans 28-23 but got torched by a rookie QB while finally handing the ball over to someone other than Desmond Ridder.
Check the NFL odds as they develop.
NFL Point Spread and Betting Analysis
Despite contending in the same conference, Week 9 is the first time in three years that Minnesota and Atlanta will draw swords. The most recent tilt was in October 2020 when the Falcons ran a rampage 40-23. That, in effect, halted a four-game winning streak for the Vikings over the Falcons. The last time Atlanta emerged victorious at home versus Minnesota was in 2011.
Against the spread, the Vikings have accomplished the exact same feat as they have in the actual standings. After starting 2023 at 0-3, they’ve covered four of the previous five spreads to level the record at 4-4. Of course, that’s all been sent into a tailspin, what with news that QB Kirk Cousins will miss the rest of the season, so who the club fares against the spread the rest of the way is just about anybody’s guess. The under has cashed in seven out of eight times.
Conversely, Atlanta has been much less trustworthy ATS, sporting a 2-6 tally. They haven’t covered in a single game which they outright lost and failed to cover in two of their straight-up wins. Furthermore, Atlanta has not covered three times this season when favoured. The under has been successful in their care too, handling six of eight contests.
Minnesota Vikings
It’s a rare day when the Minnesota Vikings enter Green Bay and defeat the Packers yet leave highly concerned about their future. Such was the case Sunday afternoon after downing the Packers 24-10.
Defensively the club was outstanding, keeping the Packers out of the end until the third quarter was almost done. They limited their opponents to 16 first downs, 5-for-14 on third down and a critically important 1-for-4 on fourth down. Conversely, the Vikings moved the ball with relative efficiency. Cousins was 23-for-31, 274 yards, and two TDs. His receivers have stepped up massively in light of Justin Jefferson’s absence. Kudos to Jordan Addison, K.J. Osborn, and T.J. Hockenson. Now it’s looking as if that stepping-up routine will reach a new degree of difficulty without Cousins under centre. Rookie Ryan Hall is next on the pecking order.
Atlanta Falcons
Certain fans were waiting for it to happen. If things did not change, it was inevitable. Well, when the second half of Sunday’s match at Tennessee resumed, Falcons QB Desmond Ridder remained on the sideline in favour of Taylor Heinicke.
It was revealed that Ridder needed to be checked for concussion symptoms but was cleared. Head coach Arthur Smith stuck with Heinicke regardless. In his defence, the decision paid off insofar as Atlanta mustered far superior drives in the third and fourth quarters, scoring 20 points versus three in the first half. It made the game compelling despite that the Titans still won 28-23. It’s a shame the Falcons were down by so much so early because Bijan Robinson only had 11 touches on the day (yet averaged a strong 5.6 yards per carry).
Sitting Ridder wasn’t the shocker of the afternoon. That title went to Titans rookie QB Will Levis who threw for 238 yards and four TDs, serving DeAndre Hopkins a hat trick and making him look like the Hopkins of his Texans days. It’s tempting to argue that Atlanta would have an edge against a rookie Vikings gunslinger, yet they just got burned by a first-year QB.
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