Experts believe the Minnesota Vikings will win vs Lions in Week 9

The Minnesota Vikings host the Detroit Lions in Week 9 of the 2018 NFL season and most NFL experts believe this is a game the home team will win.

Halfway through the Minnesota Vikings season, they are sitting in second place in the NFC North with a record of 4-3-1, hoping to catch up to the Chicago Bears during the second half of the schedule.

Their competition in Week 9 is the Detroit Lions, a team they have never beaten at U.S Bank Stadium yet resides in the bottom of the division standings despite having talented players, a new coach, and some hardcore fans sticking with them through thick and thin.

The experts have weighed in on how they see the outcome of this game going during their weekly picks and they are quite interesting. Here are some of the more notable picks along with score predictions where available:

Picking the Minnesota Vikings

• Bleacher Report – Consensus: “it’s worth noting that the Lions have outscored their division rival by a combined margin of 36-23 in a pair of road games at Minnesota’s new stadium the last two years.” (24-23)
• CBS Sports – Pete Prisco: “The Vikings haven’t looked as good as expected on defense, but I think that will change here.” (24-16)
• CBS Sports: Jason La Canfora, Will Brinson, Jared Dubin, Ryan Wilson, John Breech, Dave Richard, Jamey Eisenberg
• Detroit News: Rogers
• NFL.com – Elliot Harrison: “Kirk Cousins will eat Lions defenders alive if they don’t get down time, and perhaps fewer possessions to contain the Vikes’ offense.” (27-16)
• NY Times – Benjamin Hoffman: “Minnesota has a talent advantage, a home-field advantage and an “Adam Thielen gets 100 receiving yards every week” advantage.” (Vikings -4.5)
• Pioneer Press – Kevin Cusick: “Mike Zimmer says he’s “not disappointed” that his Vikings have reached the halfway point with a meager 4-3-1 record.” (Vikings by 7)
• Pro Football Talk – MDS: “The Lions signaled by trading Golden Tate that they don’t think they’re NFC North contenders. They’ll confirm that on Sunday.” (30-17)
• Pro Football Talk – Mike Florio: “The Lions are 2-0 in U.S. Bank Stadium. They won’t extend that streak to three.” (31-21)
• SBNation: RVB, Stephen White, Geoff Schwartz, Charles McDonald, Adam Stites, Christian D’Andrea, Alex Rubenstein
• Sporting News – Vinnie Iyer: “The Lions will see Kerryon Johnson cool off, and Matthew Stafford will not be able to light it up well enough on road.” (31-23)
• USA Today: Jarrett Bell (31-27), Nate Davis (27-23), Mike Jones (29-23), Mike Middlehurst-Schwartz (31-20), Lorenzo Reyes (28-22)

It looks like a lot of experts expect the Vikings to defend their home turf against the Lions and emerge with a win. Of course, this could also depend on the players available due to injury as well as the turnover battle on the field, but fingers are crossed Minnesota doesn’t shoot themselves in the foot for a second week in a row.

Still, it’s great to see so many experts so fond of the Vikings this week considering this is a big division matchup and only the second time the team will face one of the three NFC North foes this season.

Picking the Detroit Lions

• Detroit News: Hawkins, Niyo, Wojnowski
• Sporting News – David Steele: “Kirk Cousins and Matthew Stafford, entering the league and getting their massive contracts at different times, are looking more like two peas in a pod every week.” (30-33)

While not many experts are picking the Lions, they could be a trendy pick. Division games are usually tough and the Lions are really hungry to get a win to prove they aren’t happy with their place in the NFC North.

However, this should be a game that the Minnesota Vikings feel a sense of urgency for. It should get them up and running to not only keep pace but prove they aren’t the kind of team that makes mistakes on a regular basis.

Who do you think will win the Week 9 matchup between the Minnesota Vikings and Detroit Lions on Sunday, Nov. 4? And how key of a factor will home field advantage be for this important game? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.