Cowboys Vikings Betting – Minnesota Offense Gets Worked Over At Home

Sports betting odds for Minnesota this year aren’t very good on the grounds that their offense struggled last year, and now they have a veteran quarterback and barely no receivers. They’ll get their first big test this Saturday at home against Dallas, and even though the Cowboys’ secondary is terrible, they’ll keep the Vikings in their back pocket.

• What: NFL Betting
• When: Saturday, August 27th, 8:00 PM ET
• Where: Mall of America Field at Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, Minnesota, MN
• Pick: Dallas Cowboys -1

Why Bet On Dallas Cowboys

The Cowboys fell 20-7 at home to San Diego, but Dallas figured out that Stephen McGee is continuing to progress and he may end up taking over for Jon Kitna as Tony Romo’s backup by the end of the regular season. McGee was 16-of-29 for 157 yards, and while Kitna has the inside track right now because of his experience, he is 39 years old and anything can happen. Dallas also ran 20 times for 109 yards for an average of 5.5 yards, and the Cowboys need to run the ball in order to make their passing game more lethal. Linebacker Kenwin Cummings led the team with six tackles, while pass-rush specialist DeMarcus Ware had a sack, which can only help a secondary that hasn’t improved that much over the offseason.

Vincent Jackson looked dangerous, and that means the back of the Dallas defense still has some work to do. Cornerback Terence Newman is due to be back by the time Week 1 rolls around because of an ailing groin, but the Cowboys don’t sound confident and instead, re-signed nickel corner Orlando Scandrick to a ridiculous contract. Scandrick is good, but he is not worth $27 million over five years. Minnesota shouldn’t be too tough to stop through the air, so the Dallas secondary should be able to survive this game but if they can’t, their NFL betting odds may drop like a stone throughout the regular season.

Why Bet On Minnesota Vikings

The Vikings stepped up their game in a 20-7 win in Seattle after the entire team looked lethargic in their opener in Tennessee, and they’ll play their first game in front of their home fans this season so they’ll be ready to put on a show. Donovan McNabb was 6-of-8 for 81 yards, while the Vikings ran for 142 yards (just 16 yards from Adrian Peterson), and Marcus Sherels ran back a pick 64 yards to the house for a score to power the defense. There isn’t a lot of pressure on the Vikings this year as they’re rebuilding, and this could allow the team to play more relaxed throughout the season. McNabb will be the focus of the season, and his best receivers are Percy Harvin and tight end Visanthe Shiancoe, who has a wonky hamstring and hasn’t even played yet this year.

This will be a huge test for the Vikings as coach Leslie Frazier looks to see what he has with this team, playing the starters for most of the game. He knows he has a stud running back in Peterson, but he can’t do it all on his own and the Vikings should try to throw in some packages this week to get more space for him because they’re going to be a run-heavy team in 2011, whether they like it or not.

How It Will Play Out

Dallas is a 1-point NFL betting favorite on the road in Minnesota, where they have lost their last five trips in the regular season both SU and ATS, and three games came in under the posted total. This will be closer to a regular-season game than the rest of the preseason slate because the starters will get a heavy workload.

Both teams have head coaches (Dallas’ Jason Garrett, Frazier in Minnesota) who took over during the 2010 season and this is their first opportunity to run a camp, although the players are used to them. We’re going to go with the Cowboys here because Frazier doesn’t have much to work with offensively and the one area in which they could go at the Cowboys (the secondary), they can’t take advantage of because they have no receivers for McNabb to work with. Minnesota’s defense is good enough to keep this from being a blowout, but the offense will hold them back. Wager on the Dallas Cowboys in your online betting picks.

Cowboys Vikings Betting Pick: Dallas Cowboys -1