Acme Packing Company
The injuries have taken quite a toll on the Green Bay Packers over the past few weeks. Now, with the team locked into the 7 seed in the NFC playoffs ahead of their regular season finale at the Minnesota Vikings, the Packers are expected to sit several banged-up players for that game, a group that could include quarterbacks Jordan Love and Malik Willis.
As a result, sportsbooks are leaning hard into the expectation that key Packers will sit out, making the Vikings significant home favorites in this game. After losing four straight and six of seven games at midseason, Minnesota has bounced back with four straight wins, three against NFC East competition and the fourth coming at home on Christmas Day against the Detroit Lions. That game clinched the Packers’ playoff spot and oddly may make this Week 18 matchup a much less competitive one since Green Bay cannot change their seeding at this point.
As of Monday afternoon, FanDuel sportsbook has installed the Vikings as 5.5-point favorites for Sunday’s game, making this just the fourth game all season that the Packers have been underdogs. Green Bay won one of the previous three outright, beating the Detroit Lions 31-24 on Thanksgiving but losing to the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 9 and to the Chicago Bears in Week 15.
Overall, Green Bay is an ugly 6-9-1 against the spread this season, despite their 9-6-1 record overall. Meanwhile, Minnesota’s 8-8 overall record is matched by their 8-8 record against the spread.
The last time these two teams met was back in Week 11, when the Packers were favored by 6.5 points at home. They covered comfortably in a 23-6 victory.
The books also expect a low-scoring game on Sunday, surely due in large part to the Packers’ glut of injuries. The over/under line for total points is just 36.5, which will be the lowest of the season for a Packers game. Their previous low was 38.5 just last Saturday against the Baltimore Ravens, a total that the two teams smashed in Baltimore’s 41-24 win.
