There's no use in pussyfootin' around and possibly letting a good number slip away. The Vikings are a team trending up while the Niners are hoping to just stay competitive in the NFC West. What kind of egg would Minnesota have to lay for them not to open the year with a win at San Fran, or at least cover/push?
Yes, anything can happen on any given Sunday, and the Vikes were 7-9 last year, but I feel like this game is a matchup of two teams going in opposite directions and this line fails to account for the discrepancy I see between these two ball clubs.
I expect the Vikings to win, but the beauty in +3 is that they don't even have to. Getting a field goal in the NFL is such a luxury and a safety net. The current juice is -120 and I'll gladly risk that.
I could go into detail as to why I like this game, but I don't really feel like doing so at the moment. I'm confident in this pick and I don't intend to dissect every little aspect of it with surgical precision. The bottom line is, I believe the Vikings are a sleeper this year and the Niners are destined for mediocrity... the perception simply hasn't caught up to this fact yet, thus the value in Minnesota +3.
If, for some reason, Peterson fails to suit up in purple on opening weekend, then it obviously affects my position on this game... but I don't anticipate that being an issue at this juncture. Get this game now... I don't really see the line moving in my favor as the season approaches. It could, however, dip below the key number of three, so might as well book it with maximum value.
Bridgewater > Kap