To the surprise of some, oddsmakers have the Minnesota Vikings as the favorite in the team's regular-season opener against the New York Giants on Sunday. As of Friday, the DraftKings Sportsbook has the Vikings, despite being the road team, as two-point favorites heading into this weekend's contest in New York.
Perhaps this is why Minnesota starting linebacker Ivan Pace Jr. sounded very confident on Friday when speaking with KSTP's Darren Wolfson. After he was asked about how good of a matchup he thinks the Vikings defense has against the Giants offense, Pace shared the following comment with a smile on his face.
"We about to go crazy man. They ain't even going to be no matchup.
... look good, but I know our defense. I know what we've got here in this locker room. So we gonna be good."
Minnesota Vikings LB Ivan Pace Jr. just gave the New York Giants bulletin board material
To be fair, Pace should feel confident about the matchup that Minnesota's defense has this week. New York's offense is led by one of the most underwhelming quarterbacks in the league in Daniel Jones, they just lost Pro Bowl running back Saquon Barkley this past offseason, and their offensive line is full of question marks.
But football is one of the most unpredictable sports in the entire world, so anything can happen on any given Sunday. Pace can be confident, but he shouldn't let his feelings about the Giants offense cause him to take them lightly this weekend because that's when mistakes are made.
The Vikings are favored on the road this weekend, but they're not heavy favorites. If Pace believes that Minnesota's defense is so much better than New York's offense, then he and the rest of his teammates need to go out and prove it on Sunday.
Hopefully, that is exactly what ends up happening this weekend.