The Minnesota Vikings have had the upper hand in their all-time series against the New Orleans Saints, winning 23 of 35 meetings, including the postseason, while knocking them out of the playoffs twice in the last three years. However, New Orleans has won four of the last five regular-season matchups, including the last two at home. The Saints will attempt to continue that success when they host the Vikings on Friday as part of the NFL Christmas Day 2020 schedule. Kickoff from the Mercedes-Benz Superdome is set for 4:30 p.m. ET.
New Orleans (10-4) will make its third bid to clinch the NFC South title for the fourth straight year after dropping back-to-back three-point decisions. Minnesota (6-8), which also hopes to avoid a third consecutive defeat, last won a regular-season game at the Superdome in 2008. New Orleans is a 6.5-point favorite in the latest Saints vs. Vikings odds from William Hill Sportsbook, while the over-under is 51. Before locking in any Vikings vs. Saints picks, make sure you see the latest NFL predictions from SportsLine’s proven projection model.
The model, which simulates every NFL game 10,000 times, is up almost $7,900 for $100 players on top-rated NFL picks since its inception five-plus years ago. It is a sizzling 22-11 on top-rated NFL picks this season, returning over $800. The model also enters Week 16 on an incredible 118-76 run on top-rated NFL picks that dates back to the 2017 season.
The model ranked in the Top 10 on NFLPickWatch in three of the past four years on straight-up NFL picks and beat more than 95 percent of CBS Sports office pool players three times during that span. Anyone who has followed it is way up.
Now, the model has set its sights on Saints vs. Vikings. You can visit SportsLine now to see the picks. Here are the NFL odds from William Hill and trends for Vikings vs. Saints:
- Saints vs. Vikings spread: New Orleans -6.5
- Saints vs. Vikings over-under: 51 points
- Saints vs. Vikings money line: New Orleans -300, Minnesota +250
- NO: Saints are 9-2 against the spread in their last 11 games against teams with losing records
- MIN: Vikings have failed to cover their last five contests
Why the Saints can cover
With Brees back under center, Hill returned to the all-purpose role in which he is most dangerous last week. Although he didn’t catch a pass and rushed only twice, he ran for a touchdown in the second quarter that got New Orleans within 14-7. The 30-year-old from BYU, who had six scoring receptions last year, was 82-of-114 for 834 yards with four TDs and two interceptions while filling in for Brees. He is second on the team with a half-dozen touchdown runs and third with 398 rushing yards.
Hill, who also covers punts, was a beast against Minnesota in last year’s wild-card matchup, throwing a 50-yard pass that led to a TD, rushing four times for another 50 yards and reeling in a 20-yard scoring catch.
Alvin Kamara also has been a thorn in the side of the Vikings during his brief career. After making his NFL debut at Minnesota on Sept. 11, 2017, the 25-year-old had a touchdown reception in their playoff meeting that season, had both a rushing and receiving TD in a regular-season victory the following year, and ran for a score in the wild-card showdown last season.
Why the Vikings can cover
Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins has thrown 29 touchdown passes this season, one shy of the career-high set during his first year with Minnesota in 2018. The 32-year-old from Michigan State, who has multiple TD tosses in 10 of his 14 contests, is 431 passing yards away from reaching 4,000 for the fifth time in six seasons.
Cousins has connected with Adam Thielen (13) and Justin Jefferson (seven) for 20 of his scores, while Dalvin Cook has recorded all but one of the Vikings’ 16 rushing touchdowns this seasons.
Jefferson (six) is the fifth rookie in NFL history with at least six 100-yard performances, while Cook ranks second in the league with a career-high 1,484 rushing yards and is two shy of matching Adrian Peterson’s franchise record of ten 100-yard efforts in a season (2008, 2012).
How to make Saints vs. Vikings picks
SportsLine’s model is leaning Over on the total. In fact, it’s calling for 52 total points. It also says one side of the spread hits well over 50 percent of the time. You can only get the pick at SportsLine.
So who wins Saints vs. Vikings on NFL Christmas Day 2020? And which side of the spread hits well over 50 percent of the time? Visit SportsLine now to see which side of the Vikings vs. Saints spread to jump on, all from the advanced model that is up almost $7,900 on its top-rated NFL picks, and find out.
