Minnesota Vikings

Picks

I don’t care if JJ McCarthy misses this game with a concussion — he’s been historically bad. Max Brosmer just needs to get the ball in Justin Jefferson’s direction, and it’s hard to imagine him being any worse than McCarthy. Jefferson was +200 last week against Green Bay and was as short as even money two games ago. The offense is bad, but it’s been bad all year, and he’ll still see near double-digit targets with plenty of trailing game script. Even with a quarterback change, this number looks about 70 cents too long.

Things look bleak for the Vikings passing game, with undrafted rookie Max Brosmer likely getting the sacrificial start in Seattle. The Seahawks pass pressure won’t give him much time in the pocket and Kevin O’Connell will lean on Jones as a quick and easy receiving option to help get Brosmer going early as well as avoid pressure. Jones has been targeted more in recent games, with 16 targets for nine catches the past three games. Seahawks have allowed the fifth most rec yds to RBs this season and Jones’ projections sit as high as 22 yards in Week 13.

J.J. McCarthy finished 12-for-19 passing for a measly 87 yards along with two interceptions in the road loss at Green Bay in Week 12. The Vikings has failed to crack 20 points in three straight games and now head to Lumen Field to take on another elite defense. The Seahawks got a bit of a scare in Tennessee on Sunday but still limited the Titans to 17 points on offense, checking them to 4.4 yards per play and sacking rookie QB Cam Ward four times. Sam Darnold takes on his former club and needs to be wary of the Vikings’ blitz-heavy schemes. That means quicker hits and lots of handoffs, with little time in the pocket for deeper strikes to develop. This total opened just shy of the key number of 44 points and is already sinking like a stone in the opening hours of action. Grab the Under 43.5 now, as the next stop is 42.5 with little reason to like the Over.