Vikings @ Panthers

Vikings (-220) @ Panthers(+180): O/U 46.5
Vikings -4.5 (-110), Panthers +4.5 (-110)

Writer’s Record:
Bet: 4-7 -2.9u
Lean: 7-4 +2.11u

As far as revenge games go, this one has pretty low stakes as Adam Thielen makes his return to Minnesota.  The Vikings are 0-3 and after finishing last season 11-0 in one score games, they are now 0-3 in such games this season.  Football is weird.  The Panthers aren’t very good as expected and are also 0-3, but they aren’t really expected to make the playoffs this season.  Bryce Young is making his return after missing Week 3 with an ankle injury and the whispers are that the Panthers looked better with Andy Dalton under center then the first-overall pick.  The Vikings are desperate though and should come out swinging against this banged up Panther secondary that is missing Joe Horn and Xavier Woods.  I expect Kirk Cousins to pepper Justin Jefferson early, get out to a solid lead and hope the defense can somehow find a way to force a turnover.

Main Storylines to Watch

Cousins Out of Magic: Nobody trusted the Vikings 11-0 record in one-score games or their 13-4 overall record last season and while regression was inevitable, a complete reversal seems like overkill.  The long and short of it is that Cousins is just good enough to throw for 300 yards, but not good enough to rely on in the clutch.  The Vikings keep stabbing themselves in the foot with costly TOs.  They have have fumbled seven times and lost them all, this team is constantly finding itself in an all-or-nothing proposition.

Too Young, Too Small: After Dalton shredded the Seahawks for 361 yards, it sure made Young and his 299 yards over two games look inadequate.  Young is getting heat for not being big enough to withstand the rigors of the NFL and for once, the pundits might be right.  The Panthers don’t have the greatest weapons, but Dalton sure made Thielen look young again and if while it’s too early to make any definitive proclamations, the learning curve for Young looks pretty steep so far.  The good news is that Vikings secondary is awful if there was ever a game to get going, it’s now in Week 4.

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