Vikings vs. Texans NFL Week 4 Vegas spread, betting odds: Coronavirus good news means game will be played

For a large chunk of this week, Sunday's Minnesota Vikings at Houston Texans matchup was in some jeopardy because of a COVID-19 outbreak on the Tennessee Titans – who played at Minnesota in Week 3. However, while the virus continues to cause problems on the Titans, all relevant members of the Vikings have tested negative this week and their game will go Sunday. The Texans are 3.5-point favorites on the NFL odds.

The Vikings were forced to evacuate their team facility early Tuesday morning when the first round of Titans positive tests was returned. The Vikings were then cleared by two rounds of testing — Wednesday's PCR tests and rapid-response tests Thursday — before returning to the facility Thursday and practicing. The scheduled practice Wednesday was canceled and Tuesday's meetings were moved online.

Minnesota and Houston were playoff teams in 2019 but both enter Sunday at 0-3. Just one team in NFL history has made the playoffs following a 0-4 start: The 1992 San Diego Chargers. William Hill sportsbook gives the Vikings +375 odds to make the playoffs and -500 to miss. Houston is +450 to make and -650 to miss. That the Texans are winless is somewhat unacceptable as they have faced the Chiefs, Ravens and Steelers, who are a combined 8-1.

Both these teams appear fairly healthy for Sunday. There was some concern over Texans wideout Will Fuller with a hamstring injury, but Coach Bill O'Brien said he expects Fuller to play. Fuller has 12 catches for 166 yards and a TD on the season. 

The Titans had two more players test positive Friday, meaning their Week 5 game vs. Buffalo is no sure thing to be played after the Week 4 matchup vs. Pittsburgh was postponed. In all, eight Tennessee players and seven other members of the organization now have tested positive this week.

There are five known players who tested positive: starting nose tackle DaQuan Jones, linebacker Kamalei Correa, rookie second-round cornerback Kristian Fulton, long-snapper Beau Brinkley and practice squad tight end Tommy Hudson. All are on the reserve/COVID-19 list and in a race against time to be cleared for Week 5. Officials from the NFL and the NFL Players Association are in Nashville currently.

The NFL severely strengthened its virus-related policies this week, including agreeing with the NFLPA to extend daily testing indefinitely and that players and coaches are not allowed to leave their home city during their bye week and still must submit to daily testing during it. Those who miss a test will receive a $50,000 fine, while a second missed test will result in a one-game suspension.

Tennessee and Pittsburgh were forced into the Week 4 bye. That scheduled game in Nashville has officially been moved to Week 7 by the NFL. Steelers-Ravens will move from Week 7 to Week 8, and Baltimore's bye, originally set for Week 8, will now be in Week 7.

Who wins every NFL game this week? And which teams cover more than 50 percent of the time? Get picks here from the SportsLine Projection Model, which simulates every NFL game 10,000 times and ranked in the Top 10 on NFLPickWatch three of the past four years on straight-up NFL picks.