ATL/MIN
Time: 4:25 PM ET
Spread: ATL -3
Total: 47

Betting odds courtesy of Bovada

The Atlanta Falcons have opened the season 2-1 and are atop the NFC South, due mainly to a pass offense that ranks 1st in the NFL, amassing 333.7 yards per game.

The Falcons haven’t been too bad on the ground either, ranking middle of the road (16th) with 121.3 yards per game. Its defense has been good enough to allow the offense to lead the team to wins, having allowed just an average of 17 points the last two weeks, after giving up 34 in a 37-34 OT victory over the New Orleans Saints in Week 1. Atlanta enters its week 4 matchup on the road in Minnesota, where the Falcons are three-point favorites over the Vikings.

Matt Ryan has thrown 68.5 percent of his passes for completion while racking up 965 yards in four games. He’s averaging 8.7 yards pe completion and has 7 TDs to just 3 INTs, with only one sack per game. His QB rating of 105.1 is a testament to his receiving corp which features its top-4 WRs with 100 yards or more, led by Julio Jones’ 365 yards and three TDs. Ryan has benefitted from this in also being able to run a little more, managing 45 yards on seven carries, while accounting for one first down.

Steven Jackson has done the bulk of the work in the backfield, with 152 yards on the season, but is averaging only 4.1 yards per carry. He’s still gained nine first downs for the Falcons, though, so he is doing his job on third-down situations.

The Vikings are 1-2 on the season, and the team has struggled badly offensively, ranking second-worst in passing yardage (173.7 per game) and just 24th in rushing yardage (99.3 per game). Besides a week 1 34-6 drubbing of Saint Louis, the Vikings have been outscored 50-16 since that point, including 20-9 last week to the Saints.

Matt Cassel remains the starter, and has thrown 41-of-71 for completion (57 percent) while averaging 6.0 yards per reception. He’s thrown more INTs (4) than TDs (3) and has been sacked six times. Teddy Bridgewater, the top notch rookie from Louisville, has thrown 20 passes for 60 percent completion, but has yet to throw his first TD in limited appearances. Bridgewater represents the future for the Vikings, and he has a better QB rating than Cassel in the small sample sizes theatre.