
Sam Panayotovich
FOX Sports Betting Analyst
Last February, almost immediately after the dust settled from Super Bowl LVIII, the FOX Sports editorial team tabbed Geoff Schwartz, Jason McIntyre and your team to pick a team to win. This Super Bowl of the year.
Geoff naturally and confidently went with the Kansas City Chiefs, J-Mac leaned toward the San Francisco 49ers, and I Dove a little deeper under the board 20-1 averages to hunt down the Green Bay Packers and quarterback Jordan Love.
My logic was simple: avoid Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, Joe Burrow and Lamar Jackson and pick a long shot from the NFC. The Packers seemed the most logical, followed by Detroit, Philadelphia and San Francisco, and I chose the cheese over the trendier choices of Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas and Los Angeles.
I never considered the Minnesota Vikings.
oh
“Minnesota Power has one of the biggest upgrades in the ratings,” BetSports Director of Content and veteran NFL bettor Andy Molitor told FOX Sports.
“You had to start low with the most important position having a question mark like that. And it was a question mark moving downward. We had two data points on Sam Darnold and both of them weren’t good. He Neither was the NFL starting quarterback and the Vikings plan to start rookie JJ McCarthy.
“They remind me a lot of last year’s San Francisco team. You look at the roster and all the weapons are there, and the defense is great, but none of that matters if the quarterback sucks. So you less Start and keep upgrading if the guy plays well and that’s what happened with Minnesota.”
Fast-forward to late December. Minnesota now controls its destiny at the NFC’s No. 1 overall seed and the Packers are the next obstacle in the way. The longtime division rivals meet Sunday in America’s Game of the Week.
You can watch live on FOX Sports and the The FOX Sports app.
Las Vegas bookmakers opened Minnesota as a 1.5-point home favorite, but respectable money has run the line for mostly a pick ’em (PK) in the market, with a few shops sitting on Green Bay-1. It’s not every day you see a football team with a 13-2 record as the betting underdog in its own building.
“I have them fairly evenly matched,” Molitor said. “My numbers for this game are Minnesota -1/-1.5 and more (deep dive (co-host Drew Dincic) and I talked about it, we realized we didn’t want to bet on the game.
“It’s the best game of the week, and we’ll probably sit out.”
Discipline should always be appreciated.
Can the Packers pull the upset vs. the Vikings in NFL Week 17?

Personally, I think Minnesota is a different animal on the Death Star. I’ve seen a handful of games there and home field advantage is still minimal. Many of those fans are drinking vodka from a horn at sunrise and the energy bounces off the walls throughout the game.
You can’t hear yourself thinking about resisting a third down.
“As of right now, we’re going to need the Vikings to win,” a veteran Las Vegas bookmaker told Fox Sports. “That means Green Bay will probably get the money. That’s what it’s been like for us this season. It’s been body blow after body blow.
“We’ll definitely need it to stay ‘under 48’ as well.”
Sam Panayotovich is a sports betting analyst for FOX Sports and BetQL Network. He previously worked for WGN Radio, NBC Sports and VSiN. Follow him on Twitter @spshoot.
Want great stories delivered straight to your inbox? Create or log in to your FOX Sports accountAnd follow leagues, teams and players to receive a personalized newsletter daily!

Get more from the National Football League Follow your favorites to get information about sports, news and more