The New England Patriots (8-3) rebounded nicely with a big road win after their bye week and hope to build on that victory Sunday at Gillette Stadium versus the Minnesota Vikings (6-4-1) as six-point home favorites on the NFL Week 13 odds at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com.
The Patriots more than doubled up the New York Jets 27-13 in an AFC East matchup last Sunday, beating the spread as 13-point road favorites. They had opened as 9.5-point chalk and rewarded backers with a late touchdown run by rookie running back Sony Michel to cover.
Michel had a career-high 133 rushing yards, and tight end Rob Gronkowski returned for the first time in a month, scoring the team's first touchdown on a 34-yard pass from quarterback Tom Brady (283 yards and two scores).
Later that day on Sunday Night Football, the Vikings kept their playoff hopes alive with a 24-17 home win over the Green Bay Packers in a key NFC North battle. Minnesota's defense held Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers to 198 passing yards - his lowest total of the season - while counterpart Kirk Cousins came through with 342 yards and three touchdowns.
The Vikings also covered the spread as 3.5-point favorites, something they have yet to do in consecutive games this season. Minnesota is 5-4-2 against the spread, going 2-2-1 on the road. Meanwhile, New England has played its best football at home with a 4-1 ATS mark.
The Patriots have also performed well in the past four meetings with the Vikings, going 4-0 straight up and winning by an average margin of 16 points, according to the OddsShark NFL Database. New England has beaten the spread in the last three games against Minnesota, falling just short of a fourth cover due to a 24-17 win as an eight-point home favorite back in 2002.
Five of the previous six meetings have ended up UNDER the total as well, with two of them taking place in Foxborough.
New England Patriots
With the Patriots and Vikings each winning their games last week, they both remain solid contenders on the Super Bowl 53 odds. New England is the +600 co-third choice (wager $100 to win $600) along with the Kansas City Chiefs, behind only the New Orleans Saints (+300) and Los Angeles Rams (+320).
Minnesota is further down the betting futures at +2000 with the Houston Texans, also trailing the Pittsburgh Steelers (+1000), Chicago Bears (+1400) and Los Angeles Chargers (+1400).
Click here to download the new MyTeams App by NBC Sports! Receive comprehensive coverage of your teams and stream the Celtics easily on your device.