BFTB Sunday Game Picks: Two improving teams face in prime time when the Broncos host the Vikings

The BFTB Staff talk through their Sunday picks for an interesting set of games headlined by Cardinals vs Texans, Seahawks vs Rams and Vikings vs Broncos.

Good morning Bolts From the Blue!

The Chargers will face an out of sorts Green Bay Packers team in their first trip to Lambeau Field since 2015 during the early window of Sunday’s slate. Our Bolts are entering this game as a field goal favorite despite losing their Week 10 game to another NFC North team in the Detroit Lions to end their two win streak and dent their playoff hopes. Brandon Staley’s men will need to rally and beat a very winnable matchup if they are to even have hope come December as they will need to at least win five of their last eight games to even be in with a shot at January football. The Packers are a shell of the side they were before Aaron Rodgers moved on, Matt LaFleur’s young team are already looking towards next season sitting at 3-6 but Jordan Love is very well in a prove it year and needs to fight hard to be the franchise guy under center for years to come to it is dangerous to say it’s going to be easy.

The Sunday matchup that I am most excited to watch is an intriguing prime time battle between the Denver Broncos and the Minnesota Vikings. If you asked me about this game after the first few weeks of the season I’d say you would have had to pay me to watch it but now the pair hold some of the best form in the league. The Broncos have beaten both Buffalo Bills and the Kansas City Chiefs in back to back weeks to drag Sean Payton’s men back into the playoff race. Their new brand of running offense is working well and their defense which was absolutely exposed early on has really turned around to the point they keep Patrick Mahomes to a lowly nine points. The Vikings are on the back of a five win streak even though they lost their starting quarterback, Kirk Cousins, to a season ending injury. Josh Dobbs walked off the plane from Arizona and straight onto the pitch for a comeback win against the Atlanta Falcons before another impressive performance against a tough New Orleans Saints defense. I am slightly surprised that the Vikings are 2.5 point outsiders but it does make the betting landscape easier as I was unsure to take them moneyline but I am certainly keen on the spread for Josh Dobbs’ men. Brian Flores has made life very difficult for quarterbacks since his team have understood the playbook and I think he will force Russell Wilson into attempting his old magic tricks and that’s just not in his team’s interests any longer.

The other game I’ll be interested in catching is the Houston Texans hosting the Arizona Cardinals. The Cardinals are a fascinating team that I actually think are well coached under first year head coach Jonathan Gannon but their roster is so devoid of talent that they ultimately don’t win games. The Texans, on the other hand, are flying their fellow rookie head coach DeMeco Ryans, having won three of their last five games to put themselves firmly in the mix for the playoffs. However all the talk surrounding this team is rightly about CJ Stroud, the rookie quarterback is genuinely in the MVP race and has made a mockery of all the pre-draft talk about his S2 testing. The interesting part of this game is that Kyler Murray’s return has made the Cardinals look like a mildly successful offensive side and I think a sensible bet is to take the six points leeway the oddsmakers have allowed Arizona, as I think this will be a closer game than many think.

I am also keen to watch the NFC West meeting between the Seattle Seahawks and Los Angeles Rams. Matthew Stafford is returning just in time for this critical game so it does mean we should see an improvement from their miserable three point total in Week 10 however I don’t see why Vegas have this game as a single point pick ‘em spread. Since their Week 1 matchup these teams have gone in opposite directions and I trust in Seattle’s form having lost to two of the AFC’s best sides in the Bengals and the Ravens. I’m happy to take the moneyline and single point spread on this and if you’re looking for an interesting bet the Seahawks to win by a touchdown is +212 on DraftKings Sportsbook.

For all of our weekly staff picks, check them out below!