Winless Lions will score another cover vs. Vikes
Dave Tuley, senior reporter at VSiN.com, is in his fourth season with The Post’s Bettor’s Guide. His handicapping pieces appear in VSiN’s online magazine, Point Spread Weekly.
LIONS (+7) over Vikings: The Vikings are coming off a tough loss to the 49ers that dropped them to 5-6 and cost them what could be a key tiebreaker to the 49ers in the NFC wild-card chase, but most people still think they’ll be a playoff team with a soft closing schedule that starts with the Lions. However, don’t forget that they only beat the Lions 19-17 in Week 5 and needed a 54-yard Greg Joseph field goal as time expired. The Lions have been competitive like that all season. Though they’re still winless at 0-10-1, they’re 7-4 ATS, which is the fifth-best betting record in the NFL. No matter how many great stats Kirk Cousins puts up. with 23 touchdown passes to just three interceptions, he doesn’t come through in the clutch, and I’m expecting this to be another game that comes down to a late field goal.
Giants (+4) over DOLPHINS : A few weeks ago, this game wasn’t too appealing, but the Dolphins have won four straight to get into the AFC wild-card conversation and the Giants have won two of three to show some life. I don’t put too much stock in the Dolphins’ 33-10 rout of the Panthers, as the Giants crushed them 25-3 in Week 7. The Giants are getting healthy on offense, and I really think the fact that the defense just held Jalen Hurts and the Eagles to seven points will help prepare them for Tua Tagovailoa. This looks like a great spot for another upset.
LAST WEEK: 0-2, Titans (L), Browns (L)
SEASON: 15-9.