“1 UNIT” NFL SUNDAY NIGHT INTANGIBLE (Panthers +9 at home versus Vikings in a 8:20 eastern kickoff on NBC): Minnesota can clinch the NFC North divisional title with a victory this evening, but there is a possibility that they could be celebrating BEFORE this game even kicks off. The Vikings would wrap up a rare divisional title if Green Bay loses at Pittsburgh late this afternoon and that is a possibility since the Steelers are favored on their own homefield. We saw this past Monday Night on the national stage that it is not exactly easy for teams to clinch a divisional title as Arizona ended up losing outright on the road. Going into that Monday encounter I mentioned in the analysis that the Cardinals franchise had not won consecutive divisional titles in 34 YEARS and they promptly failed as a road favorite. Recent history is also against Minnesota as the Vikings have not registered 12 victories in a single season since 1998 and divisional titles have been rare in that span. Just like Arizona on Monday evening, we have a popular road favorite tonight attempting to clinch a division against an opponent with a below .500 record. On paper tonight’s game appears to be a serious mismatch which is why the line has shot up from an opening figure of 7’ points. To make a long story short Carolina has now lost both of their starting offensive tackles to injury which is going to have a negative affect on a vaunted rushing attack led by DeAngelo Williams. Carolina may have to lean a bit more heavily on reserve quarterback Matt Moore’s aerial skills because Minnesota’s defense is ranked way up at #4 versus the run. Due to injury problems both on the offensive line and to lead quarterback Jake Delhomme, the Panthers offense has produced fewer than 20 points in each of the past 4 outings. After averaging 26 points per outing a year ago, the Carolina offense is now putting up just 17 points per game this campaign. Despite the apparent mismatch on paper the fact of the matter is that Minnesota has not played at Carolina in 4 years and they lost the last visit to Charlotte. In addition veteran Vikings quarterback Brett Favre who has enjoyed a tremendous campaign has thrown 3 interceptions in the past couple of games and we all know how critical turnovers can be. For those of you who are into percentages it does not get much better than when you give Panthers head coach John Fox excessive points to work with. Carolina has COVERED SEVEN IN A ROW when cast as a home underdog of 7’-to-14 points which is the case tonight. Dating all the way back to 1992 Carolina is also a staggering 7-0 ATS/HOME when facing an excellent offensive opponent who averages at least 375 total yards per contest. Do I hear 8-0 ATS anyone?!