NFL Week 3 Odds: 5 best bets against the spread
By Brad Rowland
New Orleans Saints (-10) over Minnesota Vikings
The New Orleans Saints are 0-2, and after Sean Payton’s squad was adopted as a Super Bowl sleeper by many, the bottom seems to have fallen out on the heels of a bad loss in Cleveland. Naturally, I’ll take the 0-2 Saints as a double-digit favorite.
First, the Saints will be playing in the Superdome for the first time this season, and as a rule, Drew Brees is a different player in the friendly confines of his home stadium. New Orleans was able to freely move the ball during their indoor debut against the Falcons in week one, and to be quite honest, the Vikings do not possess that offensive firepower of a team like Atlanta that was able to come back from a large deficit to topple the Saints.
Minnesota’s offense is also in large-scale turmoil, as their best player (by a wide margin) remains on the sideline in Adrian Peterson, and Matt Cassel is still Matt Cassel. Yes, Cordarrelle Patterson is a dynamic weapon on the outside, but this isn’t the type of offensive unit that can cause problems for the New Orleans defense, and I simply can’t see the Vikings scoring 20 points on the road in this spot.
Brees throws for 400 and by halftime, you wish you remembered that the Saints are awesome at home.