Best Bet from Phil Steele's INSIDE THE PRESSBOX newsletter (free exclusively at Pregame.com)
Phile Steel Projection: Falcons by 15 points
Weather: Sunny, upper-70's, winds S 12 mph - The Vikings are turning to Teddy Bridgewater for the remainder of the season with Matt Cassel (brkn foot) on IR. He'll be working with a depleted team minus its #1 RB, #1 TE, #1 RG on offense & possibly stud WLB Chad Greenway (hand/ribs). Yes, MIN held NO to 20 pts LW but they gave up 293 yds (77%) & 2 TD's to Brees in the process. Ryan has better receiving weapons than NO & extra time to breakdown the Vikings weaknesses in pass defense. The Falcons defensively are just ok but their special teams are stellar with Devin Hester showing he still has some jets. The Vikings simply don't have the supporting cast to mount a serious challenge to the Falcons who will have Roddy White on hand. The computer calls for a comfortable win by the road team & the final score seems about right.
+/- rating: Atl by 3.5
Game Grade: Atl by 2
Computer Yards Atl 424-345
Computer points: Atl 30-15
Positional Edge: Atl by 1.86 points