Minnesota Vikings vs. Detroit Lions NFL Sports Betting Guide
The Lions and Vikings clash in a divisional matchup that finds each of them looking for their first divisional win. The Vikings are on a two-game winning streak, while the Lions are headed in the opposite direction after losing their last two.
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Details
- Opening Lines: FanDuel had the odds open as Vikings -1; O/U 44. The spread has not moved, but the over has shot up to 45.5.
- Current Line: Vikings -1
- O/U: 45.5
- Location: Ford Field, Detroit, Michigan
- Start Time: 1:00 pm ET
- Television: FOX
- Last Meeting: December 23, 2018 – The Vikings defeated the Lions 27-9 at Ford Field.
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Overview
Two weeks ago, fans in Minnesota were ready to see the end of the Kirk Cousins era. The Vikings offense looked terrible in a 16-6 division loss to the Bears and all fingers were pointing to Cousins as the fall guy. Since that game against Chicago, Cousins has thrown for 639 yards, six touchdowns, and one interception as the Vikings have improved to 4-2. Granted, these numbers have come against the secondaries of the Giants and Eagles, but he is starting to get in a rhythm with receivers Adam Thielen and Stefon Diggs.
While Cousins has been a question mark for the Vikings, Dalvin Cook has had a career year running the ball thus far. He is currently fourth in the NFL with 583 rushing yards and will be facing off against a Lions’ rush defense that has allowed 133.8 yards per game.
The Lions are coming off a devastating loss at Lambeau Field, which was marred by controversy and failures to punch the ball into the end zone. Detroit took the lead early in the first quarter and didn’t trail until Mason Crosby’s game-winning field goal went through the uprights. They were just 1/3 scoring touchdowns in the red zone and had to settle for five Matt Prater field goals. That’s not a good offensive recipe in today’s NFL.
The pass defense was sound against Rodgers, holding him to a total QBR of 41.9 and looking better than stats would show, but the rush defense was gashed numerous times. In their loss, the defense gave up 5.9 yards per rush, including 7.4 per carry to Jamaal Williams who saw the majority of work for the Packers. Facing Dalvin Cook, the Lions will need to quickly sure up their defensive line, or they find themselves struggling to get the ball back in their offense’s hands.
Trends
- The Vikings are 4-2 ATS this season.
- The Lions are 4-1 ATS this season.
- The Vikings are 6-3 ATS and SU in their last nine games.
- The Lions are 1-5 SU in their last six versus the NFC North.
- The Vikings are 10-5 ATS in their last 15 games versus Detroit.
- The total has gone under in nine of Detroit’s last 12 games.
- The total has gone under in all of Minnesota’s last six road games.
- The total has gone under in six of Detroit’s last seven games at home.
Prop Bet
First Half Under 23 (-110)
A lot of people are expecting this to be a high scoring game, but I’m thinking that we could see a struggle early on. The Lions have had trouble punching the ball into the end zone all season long and the Vikings are definitely going to want to use Dalvin Cook to drain the clock and control the line of scrimmage. While both offenses can certainly put up points, their styles actually lean toward a lower scoring game. Maybe things will pick up in the second half if the game is as close as expected, but early on it should be relatively low scoring.
Bottom Line
The Lions have looked like the better team in every game they’ve played in this season. The same can’t be said for Minnesota. The Vikings have a good matchup with Dalvin Cook against the Lions’ weak rush defense, but they are at a severe disadvantage with Kirk Cousins against the Lions’ secondary. Matthew Stafford’s entire career has been based around close games, and this season has been no different. Every single game has been decided by four points or less and I don’t expect this one to be any different. If Minnesota can run the ball on Detroit and the defense can stop Stafford and the Lions from finding the end zone, they could pull out the victory here, but I’m going with the home team because frankly, the Lions are a better team than Minnesota.
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Philip Wood is a featured writer at BettingPros. For more from Philip, check out his archive and follow him @Phil_Wood_Jr.