Detroit Lions vs Minnesota Vikings: NFL Predictions, Odds & Picks | Week 8

Sunday, November 1, 2026 · 1:00 PM ET · Ford Field, Detroit, MI · FOX

Odds courtesy of Bet365, correct at time of writing and subject to change.

Detroit is favoured at home off a 20-17 win over Green Bay, but Minnesota arrives 6-0 with the best scoring defence in this matchup, a gap the spread does not fully reflect. The Vikings have won the last two meetings in this series, including a 27-24 result at Ford Field a year ago, and that history belongs in the NFL picks Week 8 conversation heading into Sunday.

Minnesota Vikings +3.5: -116

I'm backing Minnesota to cover on the road. The Vikings are allowing just 12.3 ppg this season, well below Detroit's 27.5 ppg, and Kyler Murray has guided an unbeaten 6-0 start. Detroit's offence is averaging 30.7 ppg, but they have only beaten one team with a winning record and that last week at home in a 3-point win over the Green Bay Packers where they failed to cover.

I think the market is overweighting Detroit's home scoring average and underselling just how Minnesota's defence is from anything the Lions have faced so far this season.

Odds from Bet365 and Sports Interaction, correct at time of writing and subject to change.

The Detroit side

Jared Goff leads Deroit’ssecond-ranked scoring offence averaging 30.7 ppg. The Lions have allowed 30 or more points in three of its six games this season, including a 41-31 loss to Buffalo, and that explains why I don't trust the Lions to protect a lead against a defence like Minnesota's. Detroit beat Green Bay 20-17 last week to move to 4-2, the Lions' third win by seven points or fewer this season.

The Minnesota side

Kyler Murray has started every game and while lead RB Aaron Jones Jr. is listed as questionable he is expected to play. The team only ranks tied for 23rd in scoring but the defence has led them to an unbeaten record. The Vikings beat Indianapolis 16-10 last week in another stellar effort on D, and this series has gone Minnesota's way the last two meetings, including a 27-24 result in this building a year ago.The recent history also cuts against the home side.

Bet365	Sports Interaction
Vikings -3.5	Under 46 points
-116	-110
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Bet365 and Sports Interaction odds, correct at time of writing and subject to change.

The de-vigged market has Detroit at 62% to win and Minnesota at 38%, but my own number is closer to 54%-46%. That gap exists because Minnesota has held five of its six opponents to 16 points or fewer, the exception a 22-point outing in the season-opening win over Green Bay. A 3.5-point home line looks built around Detroit's scoring average rather than the defence it's facing this week, which is a more than formidable one and the reason the Vikings are the pick to cover. 

Detroit Lions – Last 5 Games

Minnesota Vikings – Last 5 Games

I'm calling this one a close 23-20 Lions win with Minnesota covering the 3.5 spread. The Vikings’  defence has been the best in the league so far, and I don't expect Detroit to hit its 30.7-ppg season average against it. The Vikings have won the last two meetings, and they are the pick to cover the short spread on the road in this NFC North clash.