Minnesota Vikings at Dallas Cowboys Odds & Game Pick
The Minnesota Vikings had put together four straight wins before suffering a 26-23 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 9. Now they are back on the road for the second week in a row and the third time in four weeks, visiting the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday Night Football. Minnesota has split its first four road games of the season going 2-2. Now they will try to avoid losing back-to-back games for the first time this season. It certainly won’t be easy against a Cowboys side coming off back-to-back wins over the Philadelphia Eagles and New York Giants. Dallas is 4-0 in games it has played against opponents with sub-.500 records, but 0-2 against the opponents it has faced with winning records. Minnesota is virtually the same as we know that Kirk Cousins struggles against good teams but beats up on the bad ones.
Who’ll have the upper hand on Sunday?
Special Offer: Bet $1 and win $100 if the Jets or Giants win this week >>
Details
- Opening Line: Cowboys -3
- Current Line: Cowboys -3
- Over/Under: 47.5
- Location: Cowboys Stadium, Dallas, Texas
- Start Time: 8:20 PM ET
- Last Meeting: Cowboys 17 at Vikings 15 (12/1/16)
View consensus picks from 100+ experts for the Vikings at Cowboys >>
Overview
Kirk Cousins threw three touchdown passes with a 94.2 rating in last week’s loss to Kansas City. While Cousins has played markedly better than he did earlier in the year (he has 13 touchdowns and one pick in his last four games), last week felt like a slight regression as he completed just 19-of-38 passes.
Part of the problem is that the Minnesota offensive line needs to do a better job of protecting him. Cousins went 0-for-9 when passing under pressure in last week’s loss to Kansas City. Simply put, Cousins isn’t capable of overcoming consistent pressure at this point in his career. Meanwhile, one way that the Vikings can help take some of the pressure off of Cousins is running the football with Dalvin Cook. Cook had 116 scrimmage yards in the loss to the Chiefs last week. It wouldn’t be a surprise if that number went up in Dallas.
The Cowboys have a good mix of pass rushers up front, but there are still question marks about whether their defense can hold up against the run. They were run over in losses to Green Bay and New Orleans, giving up over 250+ rushing yards on the ground in those games.
Dallas has also struggled in the takeaway department, with just four interceptions this season. Quarterback Dak Prescott and running back Ezekiel Elliott finally got it going again in the second half of last week’s 37-18 win over the New York Giants. However, that game was a lot closer than people thought it would be heading into the fourth quarter, which could be cause for concern entering a matchup against a much tougher opponent in Minnesota this week.
Trends
- Minnesota is 9-1 ATS in its last 10 games vs. Dallas
- Vikings are 2-9 SU in last 11 games as a road underdog
- Kirk Cousins is 6-28 SU vs. opponents with winning records
- Cowboys are 8-1 SU in last 9 home games
- Dallas is 10-2 SU at home since start of 2018
Bottom Line
These are two teams that mirror each other, as they both need to run the ball well to succeed and will want to stop the run. The Cowboys are 4-1 when Ezekiel Elliott rushes for over 100 yards, and the Vikings are also 4-1 when Dalvin Cook surpasses the 100-yard mark.
The Vikings’ run defense is fresh off their worst defensive effort of the season, giving up 147 rushing yards to the Kansas City Chiefs. The Cowboys should find enough running room to exploit them once again for a narrow win.
Prediction: Dallas 20, Minnesota 17
Deposit $50 at PointsBet and get a free $100 bonus! >>
Check out our other NFL Sports Betting Guides for Week 10
Atlanta Falcons at New Orleans Saints (-14)
Buffalo Bills at Cleveland Browns (-3)
New York Giants at New York Jets (+2.5)
Kansas City Chiefs at Tennessee Titans (+5.5)
Baltimore Ravens at Cincinnati Bengals (+10.5)
Los Angeles Rams at Pittsburgh Steelers (+4.5)
Arizona Cardinals at Tampa Bay Buccaneers (-4.5)
Miami Dolphins at Indianapolis Colts (-11.5)
Carolina Panthers at Green Bay Packers (-5)
Detroit Lions at Chicago Bears (-2.5)
Seattle Seahawks at San Francisco 49ers (-6.5)
Dave Golokhov is a featured writer at BettingPros. For more from Dave, check out his archive and follow him @davegolokhov.