NFL Week 14 Top Matchups: Odds for Vikings-Panthers, Raiders-Chiefs
The Minnesota Vikings (10-2) are now tied for the best record in the NFC and the entire league thanks to an eight-game winning streak that has also seen the team cover the spread in seven straight.
The sign of a dominant team is beating the number, and Minnesota will get a chance to do it again as a consensus 2.5-point road favorite at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com this Sunday against the Carolina Panthers (8-4).
The Vikings closed as 2-point road dogs last week and responded by defeating another NFC South team in the Atlanta Falcons 14-9 behind an impressive defensive effort. The Falcons were riding a three-game winning streak heading into that game while averaging nearly 32 points during that stretch. Minnesota held Atlanta wide receiver Julio Jones to just two catches for 24 yards and gave up only three field goals.
Meanwhile, the Panthers are coming off a 31-21 road loss to the New Orleans Saints, which ended their four-game winning streak. Carolina was swept by New Orleans and hopes to rebound in a good spot that has seen the favorite go 1-4 straight up and against the spread in the past five meetings.
The Panthers are also catching the Vikings in the last of three consecutive road games before ending with two of three at home.
In the AFC, another intriguing Week 14 matchup will take place in Kansas City when the Chiefs (6-6) attempt to break a four-game skid when they host the Oakland Raiders (6-6) as 4-point home betting favorites. The AFC West rivals will be fighting for the division lead, something that seemed improbable a few weeks ago when the Chiefs were sitting pretty at 6-2 and the Raiders were struggling at 3-5.
However, Oakland has won three of its last four and taken advantage of playing weak competition outside of the New England Patriots. The Raiders suffered the lone loss over that period to the defending Super Bowl champion Patriots in Mexico City.
Despite playing poorly lately, Kansas City would seem to be in prime position to bust its slump. The Chiefs have won eight of their last 10 games played during the month of December, according to the OddsShark NFL Database, and they have also gone 7-1 ATS in their past eight versus divisional opponents. Oakland has lost five of six to Kansas City.
