Sunday, January 03, 2021 Minnesota Vikings vs. Detroit Lions (NFL) - 1:00 PM EST Premium Pick Pick: Point Spread: 3.5/-110 Detroit Lions Rating: 8* Mike's 8* NFL Ugly Pig Game Of The Week (WIN) Plays are scarce in a week where the majority of teams have a whole list of players as questionable or teetering whether to rest them or not. However, there is still a very small minority that choose to play their Super Bowl in a game where sometimes ownership JUDGE who is coming back next year & who is not. What's so intriguing about this "hold your nose" type of game? There's a few things. The 5-10 SU Lions lost to the 6-9 SU Vikings 34-20 back in week 9 @ Minny in a game where we saw RB Dalvin Cook run WILD for 206 rushing yards (9.4 YPC) & 2 TD's. Well, he won't be in the lineup in Detroit today! The key man here is Lions' QB Matthew Stafford (23/9 TD/INT ratio). If he doesn't start, this becomes a NO PLAY & won't be counted in my final record. The reason is that I don't have faith in Chase Daniel to get the job done. The mushes are quick to point out that Detroit has quit since that looked so apparent in their 47-7 home loss to Tampa Bay last week. However, analytics tell us quite a different story. If you think this is the time of season where Detroit packs it in, you'd be wrong since they covered 4 out of 5 of their last Week 17 matchups AND are a profitable 3-1 ATS if dressed up as a divisional home dog. They now take on a Purple People Eaters squad that's not only a perfect 0-5 versus the number off of an ATS loss but also a perfect 0-5 ATS in intra-conference play. Remember, that Minnesota "D" has a banged up front 7 & doesn't look good giving up 85 points the last 2 weeks. My bottom line looks @ the Detroit brass as Executive Vice President & General Manager Bob Quinn & Vice-President of Player Personnel Kyle O'Brien will have their yea's & nay's out as they peruse over their team this week. What I do like about this one focuses on the backfield of the Motor City Madmen. RB's Adrian Peterson (541 yards & 6 TD's) AND D'Andre Swift (467 yards & 7 TD's) get to face the Vikings who have a horrible run defense (ranked 28th) & total defense (ranked 27th) in the back yard. Digging it in much deeper reveals the perfect storm! When the Vikings are pegged as road favorites coming off a SU & ATS loss AND facing a team coming off a SU loss, their record is a PERFECT 0-13 ATS! Here's where we're going with this. I feel the MAXIMUM gain is to play the line where it gives the MAXIMUM advantage. Let's jet over to Ford Field in Motown to play the DETROIT LIONS (buying to + 7 1/2) as my 8* NFL Ugly Pig Game Of The Week! Mike Handzelek's 2020-21 NFL Final Regular Season Record: 32-12 73%
 

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