The Vikings are 5½-point home favorites against the Buccaneers

The Vikings will look to double last season's win total when they host the Buccaneers on Thursday Night Football. According to the oddsmakers at America's Bookie, the Vikings are 5½-point favorites and the total is set at 43.

The Vikings remain one of the biggest early surprises this season but they had to survive an inept performance on offense to continue their drive for an NFC North crown. The Buccaneers on the other hand had nothing to show for their best offensive output of the season.

The Vikings remained perfect at home with an ugly 21-14 win against the Cardinals on Sunday while the Buccaneers blew a 14-point lead against the Saints to absorb their fourth loss in the last five games. The Buccaneers won at Minnesota in Week 2 last season before unraveling and finishing the season on a 10-game losing streak.

The Buccaneers rolled up a season-best 513 yards of total offense and Josh Freeman threw for a career-high 420 yards but they were unable to hold off Drew Brees and the Saints after building a 21-7 lead. Vincent Jackson hauled in seven catches for 216 yards and one of Freeman's three touchdown passes, but the Bucs failed to score on a first-and-goal at the 1-yard line and had two apparent tying touchdowns in the final five seconds negated by a penalty and a receiver landing out of bounds. Rookie running back Doug Martin had his highest output since the season opener with 85 yards and a touchdown on 16 carries.

The Vikings second-half performance against the Cardinals was an eyesore, but the one positive was the re-emergence of star running back Adrian Peterson, who powered his way to a season-high 153 yards on 23 carries and scored his first touchdown since Week 1. The passing game was another story, particularly in the second half. Christian Ponder threw for only 58 yards – four in the second half – with one touchdown and two interceptions. The Vikings managed only 12 first downs and 209 total yards, punting on their first five possessions of the second half and going three-and-out four straight times. Defensive end Jared Allen had two of the Vikings' seven sacks.

The Buccaneers are 4-2 ATS this season, having not lost a game by more than seven points. They nearly tied last week's game with the Saints in the closing seconds and they have no problems putting points on the board, scoring 88 in their last three games.

Christian Ponder will have to step it up to give the Vikings a chance to win but the key to this game will be the battle between Adrian Peterson against a Bucs defense that ranks third against the run. I'm leaning towards the Buccaneers +5½ and I also like this game to go over the total.

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