Everybody is sleeping on the Minnesota Vikings. This was, unquestionably the second best team in the NFC last season and possibly the third best team in the NFL. They did nothing but upgrade an already loaded team, specifically withe addition of Kirk Cousins at quarterback.
Needless to say, even if they’ve not been the favorite subject of your local talk radio station or NFL columnist, the oddsmakers at BetDSI Sportsbook aren’t sleeping on the Vikes. Here’s the over-under on their 2018 win total.
Minnesota Vikings 2018-19 Regular Season Win Total
Over 10 (-125)
Under 10 (-105)
There are plenty of reasons to like Minnesota this year. They’re coming off a 13-3 2017 campaign where Case Keenum was their quarterback and Jerrick McKinnon was their leading rusher. The 2018 version of the Vikings will field significant upgrades at both positions.
Free agent acquisition Kirk Cousins has put up monster stats since he officially became a starter four years ago with the Washington Redskins. While you can argue that those stats haven’t come with victories (and I have), Cousins was saddled with one of the worst head coaches in the league, Jay Gruden. For all his flaws, Mike Zimmer is real improvement.
Cousins has passed for more than 4,000 yards and 25+ touchdowns for the last three seasons and never tossed more than 13 interceptions.
Putting in the work! #Skol pic.twitter.com/BFJ89ebDUS
— Kirk Cousins (@KirkCousins8) June 6, 2018
In the backfield, Dalvin Cook returns from an early 2017 knee injury when it looked like he was laying down an offensive rookie of the year campaign. He started four games, averaged 4.8 yards per carry, rushed for 354 yards and two touchdowns and caught 11 passes for 90 yards. He’s a game-changing kind of back and, even coming off the injury, doesn’t have a lot of miles on him.
Defensively, the Vikings have boasted one of the NFL’s best units for years. Everson Griffen is a star pass rusher and Xavier Rhodes is probably one of the five best corners in all of football. Harrison Smith and Andrew Sendejo are as good a safety tandem as there is in the league outside of Seattle.
Not only does Minnesota have tons of defensive talent, they have plenty of depth. Rhodes and former first round pick Trae Waynes start on the outside at corner. Terrence Newman, Mackensie Alexander and 2018 first round pick Mike Hughes are going to battle for the nickle job.
Vikings running back Dalvin Cook cleared to take part in team drills https://t.co/NQDAotwuJ4 pic.twitter.com/UB9XA3iPH9
— Around The NFL (@AroundTheNFL) June 6, 2018
Looking at the Vikings’ schedule doesn’t really help here. Minnesota is capable of beating every team they face, even if they won’t always be favored. They do have a killer month to open the season, hosting the San Francisco 49ers, then traveling to the Green Bay Packers before welcoming the Buffalo Bills to Skol country. They finish up their September with a trip to the Coliseum to face the Los Angeles Rams. Depending on how the teams have played up to that point, that might be the first game the Vikings aren’t favored by at least a field goal.
This is a team that could easily come into the final month of the season 8-3 or better. That final five-game stretch is a cake walk after a trip to Foxborough to face the New England Patriots. This Vikings team is good and a legit Super Bowl contender barring something catastrophic. Anything less than a 12-4 finish would be a surprise to me. I say take the over.
