The Minnesota Vikings didn’t pay Kirk Cousins a bunch of money to compete for a playoff spot. The brain trust of the organization identified the quarterback position as the one that needed an upgrade in order to get the Vikes to the Super Bowl with their window still open. Cousins is having a nice season statistically, but he hasn’t been much better than Case Keenum was last year. And Cousins doesn’t have a glorious history of performing in clutch football games. That could change, however, the Seattle Seahawks will have something to say about that when the clubs meet on Monday Night Football to conclude the Week 14 slate.
Watch this Week 14 regular season matchup live on Monday, December 10, 2018, at 8:15 p.m. ET at CenturyLink Field.
Opening NFL Odds at BookMaker.eu
Minnesota Vikings +3.5
Seattle Seahawks -3.5
Over/Under 45
Both teams are fighting for a playoff spot in the NFC, and what makes this game more intriguing is that they are fighting each other. Seattle and Minnesota entered Week 14 holding the two wild card spots in the conference and they control their own destiny on the road to the postseason. That is about to change for one of these teams. With the jumbled mess in the middle of the NFC standings, a loss could be devastating.
A Seahawks loss would probably be more devastating for them since the only way they can reach the playoffs is through a wild card. The Vikings are still holding out hope of winning the NFC North and have a date with the division-leading Bears to close out the season. It won’t mean much if the Vikes can’t find a way to be within striking distance for the finale.
It’s been a trying season for Mike Zimmer, from defensive struggles at the start of the year to inconsistent offensive play all year. Zimmer is an old-school coach and he likes his team to do two things well: run the football and play defense. The Vikings haven’t been able to do the former at all this season, averaging just 86 yards per game on the ground to rank 30th. It hasn’t been from a lack of trying as both Latavius Murray and Dalvin Cook have taken turns running the ball, but they haven’t been able to break free.
So the Vikes have turned to throwing the football and Cousins has two top receivers and a talented tight end at his disposal. Adam Thielen has been the biggest threat leading the NFL with 98 receptions while ranking second with 1,166 receiving yards. And Thielen was upset at his performance last week when he had just five catches for 28 yards. “I’ve got to get better. I didn’t make the plays I needed to make,” he said following the loss to New England.
Thielen had a bad game, but it’s hard to be much better than he’s been. He had that streak of eight straight 100-yard receiving games to start the year and has totaled nine so far. He’s easily Cousins’ favorite target and should bounce back against a Seattle defense that isn’t exactly the Legion of Boom. I would lean toward taking the over on Thielen’s catches and receiving yards on a prop bet at BookMaker.eu.
While the Vikings have struggled running the football, that hasn’t been an issue for the Seahawks, who led the NFL with nearly 149 yards per game on the ground, and the power game has been successful in wearing down opponents. The Seahawks have rushed for more than 150 yards in seven of their last eight games. The committee approach has worked to perfection with Chris Carson, Mike Davis and Rashaad Penny all compiling over 365 rushing yards this season. I don’t see the Hawks deviating from a plan that’s been so successful, so it would be worth the risk to play a prop bet on Seattle’s rushing yard total. Besides, if those three backs don’t do enough damage, Russell Wilson can chip with a few yards to bloat the total. He’s run for 245 yards while averaging 5.4 yards per carry.
Wilson hasn’t thrown the ball as much this season with the success of the ground game taking some attempts away, but he is making the most of his throws. He’s averaging 27 pass attempts, which is about seven attempts per game fewer than the past two seasons. However, the touchdowns are coming at an alarming rate. Wilson has tossed 29 this season and had four last week on just 17 throws. The run has set up the pass and Wilson has been deadly, making him a worthy wager on a prop bet at BookMaker.eu to throw at least one TD pass at some point in Monday’s game.
NFL Betting Odds
BookMaker offers play-by-play betting odds for live sporting events every day! The user-friendly wagering interface on your smartphone provides an easy way to place bets on the go. Mobile betting lines are updated by the minute, so click here to start gambling on thrilling live action at BookMaker Sportsbook!
