The New Orleans Saints ended the 2019 NFL Regular Season with a crushing 42-10 victory over NFC South rivals Carolina Panthers.
Sean Payton’s side were hoping for losses to either the Green Bay Packers or San Francisco 49ers to sneak into the bye week. Neither happened and the Saints will play the Wildcard round as the number 3 seed.
The Minnesota Vikings will be the visitors to the Superdome on Sunday after a 10-6 season. They rested their starters in a 21-19 loss to the Chicago Bears as they were already locked in as the number 6 seed.
Drew Brees continues to be at his best in the quarterback role but comes up against a top defence this weekend. The Vikings are only 4-4 on the road and were notably beaten 37-30 at the Seattle Seahawks in week 13.
Payton and his coaches have drawn up good game plans this season, particularly when Brees was down early in the season. They are the 10/39 favourites with the bookmakers and -7.5 on the spread. Expect record-breaking receiver Michael Thomas to make a difference on offence.
I fully expect the Saints to advance to the Divisional round and I think they’ll cover the spread. You may want to find shorter odds at -6.5 to be safe though.
Pick: New Orleans Saints -7.5
