NHL Best Bets for Tuesday (11/19)
Kenneth Le
Each week in this space, we’re picking out our favorite same-game parlay for the Sunday action to get in on the betting action.
With three games on the Sunday Wild Card slate, there are limited possibilities for you to build a same-game parlay, but I like the situation in Minnesota Sunday more than any other. The Vikings (13-4) come into Sunday’s home playoff contest against the Giants (9-7-1) as 2.5-point favorites, the rematch of a wild Week 16 matchup that saw the Vikings edge the Giants 27-24.
Few teams in the NFL can stack up with the offensive firepower Minnesota deploys every week. Still, the Giants will get an opportunity on their offensive side of the ball as they face an abysmal Vikings’ secondary. Look for a high-scoring affair when the two teams tussle Sunday at 4:25 p.m. ET.
DraftKings NFL Wild Card Round Same Game Parlay
Richie James Over 44.5 Receiving Yards
T.J. Hockenson Over 44.5 Receiving Yards
Minnesota Vikings Moneyline
+360, DraftKings Sportsbook
On paper, the Giants receiving corps is the worst in the playoffs, and I don’t think it’s close. From the Kenny Golladay contract to the re-emergence of Darius Slayton, it’s been a long strange trip. Luckily for the G-Men, Brian Daboll, one of the frontrunners for Coach of the Year, has the Giants’ offense running efficiently (10th in offensive DVOA) with Daniel Jones under center, even with limited options at receiver. For our purposes here, I love Richie James in this matchup. Daboll chose to rest many starters in Week 18, but in his four previous games, James earned an average of eight targets and 67.25 receiving yards per game (Weeks 14-17). I expect that target share to continue this week against a Vikings’ secondary that allows a whopping 192.1 yards per game to opposing wide receivers. I like Richie James to easily crush this yardage prop in a game with the highest over/under of Wild Card weekend.
If you faced T.J. Hockenson in the Week 16 fantasy semis, you remember his outing. Hockenson took 16 targets for 13 receptions, 109 receiving yards and two touchdowns. While he’s probably not going to scorch the Earth as he did a few weeks ago, Kirk Cousins is averaging over 37 pass attempts per game which should lead to Hockenson targets throughout the game. Meanwhile, the Giants allow 55.2 yards to the tight end position, and Hockenson would have topped the 44.5 prop line in seven of his 11 games as a Viking. With a 20% target share in an offense that will likely have to score over 24 points to advance, I like Hockenson to be in the neighborhood of 8-10 targets on his way to hitting this over.
This week, it appears the Giants are the league’s darlings with all the talk I’ve heard about taking them, the points, the moneyline and so on. I’m high on the Giants’ future with Daboll and Daniel Jones, but the Vikings are the league’s best at finding a way in one-score games, completing a perfect 11-0 campaign in one-score victories. Also, don’t forget the Vikings are 8-1 at home this year (tied for first) and will have the home crowd on their side against Daniel Jones in his first career playoff game. I’m staying away from the spread, but I like the Vikings to find a way to win this game at home.
