Jets vs Vikings NFL Week 5 picks

We’re 4 weeks into the NFL season, and we’ve got our first Sunday morning overseas game as the New York Jets and Minnesota Vikings square off at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London to kick off Week 5. You’ll have to get up early for this one, as this game has a 9:30 AM ET start time. We’ve got the Jets vs Vikings picks for Sunday morning’s opener into the slate right here, so let’s dig in.

Predictions

Pick #1 - New York Jets +2.5 over Minnesota Vikings(-105)

Pick #2 - Under 40 Points (-110)

Pick #3 - Allen Lazard Over 34.5 Receiving Yards (-125)

PICK #1: Jets +2.5 over Vikings (-105) 

We’ll begin our Jets vs Vikings picks by taking New York to cover 2.5 points against 4-0 Minnesota. The Vikings still being perfect surely comes as a surprise to everyone, as expectations were not particularly high for head coach Kevin O’Connell’s squad. The Kirk Cousins era is over and heir apparent J.J. McCarthy – the No. 10 overall pick – was ruled out for the season with a knee injury before it even began.  

Sam Darnold has looked fantastic so far under center for Minnesota, but he faces a difficult matchup against New York this weekend. The Jets are 2nd in the NFL in passing defense and 2nd in yards per pass attempt allowed. On the other side of the ball, the Vikings are last in the league in passing defense. The Jets’ offense was stymied by a stout Denver Broncos defense in Week 4 (New York still should have won the game – and would have if a late field goal had been successful), but Aaron Rodgers will likely rebound at the expense of Minnesota’s secondary. Plus, weather was a huge factor in slowing the Jets down against Denver, but conditions look to be favorable on Sunday. Let’s go with Rodgers and the Jets to cover the spread with New York also having the potential to get the win.

PICK #2: Under 40 Points (-110)

The next pick in the Jets vs Vikings contest in London is the game staying under 40 points. With both teams flying off to London, points will be at a premium – as they typically are with a game being played overseas. The Jets put up just 9 points against the Denver Broncos last week in bad weather conditions, and the Vikings are on another planet right now with how they are playing defensively. While Rodgers still has some mobility, defensive coordinator Brian Flores makes no bones about wanting to send multiple blitzers at the quarterback.

Jets offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett is already proving to be out of his element, and the Vikings can further expose that deficiency. The way the Vikings are moving the ball on offense, it could be a long day even for the Jets defense – which has been pretty stout. Look for the Vikings to score and for the Jets to be unable to keep up, keeping this under 40 Points (-110).

PICK #3: Allen Lazard Over 34.5 Receiving Yards (-125)

Our final Jets vs Vikings pick for Sunday morning is taking Allen Lazard to go over a modest 34.5 yards receiving. Lazard has surprisingly been a key cog for the Jets, as it hasn’t been only Garrett Wilson and free agent acquisition Mike Williams doing the heavy lifting for the New York offense. Lazard has 3 games out of 4 this season where he’s eclipsed the 34.5-yard mark, and he’s done so with plenty of room to spare. Having seen at least 83% of snaps in all 4 games this season, this should be a perfectly attainable number for Lazard to hit.

As evidenced by our prior selections, we’re picking the Vikings to win this game. However, a negative game script bodes well for Lazard, as the Jets will be forced to pass more than usual if they are behind. Rodgers has a long-time rapport with Lazard going back to their days together as Green Bay Packers, so we’re confident in Lazard being able to go well over the 34.5 receiving yards (-125) prop for Sunday morning’s game.