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Bettors Siding With Eagles as 3-Point Road Dogs vs Vikings – Picks & Betting Preview

David Golokhov

by David Golokhov in NFL Football

Updated Apr 4, 2020 · 3:19 PM PDT

Minnesota Vikings home stadium
Can the Philadelphia Eagles win as a small road dog on Sunday? Photo By Darb02 (Wiki Commons) [CC License].
  • Kirk Cousins is just 4-26 against teams with a winning record
  • In the Vikings two losses this season, Cousins has one touchdown and four turnovers
  • Read below to find out why the over looks like a good wager to make in this matchup

The Philadelphia Eagles and Minnesota Vikings will be one of the more important NFC clashes in Week 6. So far, bettors have been all over the Eagles as a road favorite as the Eagles vs Vikings odds at Sportsbooks show 67% of the bets and 68% of the money is on the Eagles. Are they the right side here?

Philadelphia Eagles vs Minnesota Vikings Odds

Team Spread Moneyline Total
Minnesota Vikings +3 (+100) +148 Over 44 (-106)
Philadelphia Eagles -3 (-120) -170 Under 44 (-114)

*Odds taken 10/12/19

Can Cousins Beat a Good Team?

One of the reasons why the money has squarely been on the Eagles is because few people believe in Kirk Cousins when he plays quality opponents. He’s just 4-26 in his career against teams with a winning record, which includes two losses this season against the Green Bay Packers and Chicago Bears.

In those games, Cousins is a combined 41-of-68 (60.3%), for 463 yards, one touchdown, two interceptions and two fumbles. However, those numbers are misleading as a lot of those yards were collected in garbage time. On top of that, the Vikings have just 22 points scored in those two games.

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Cousins has dominated the bad teams this season as the Vikings have won by at least 16 points in each of their other three games and Cousins has a touchdown-interception ratio of 4-to-0 in those games. Can he step up his game against one of the better teams in the NFC when the Eagles visit on Sunday?

Can Eagles Secondary Survive?

One of the reasons why some people think that Cousins and the Vikings might have some success through the air this week is because the Eagles secondary is so banged up. Avonte Maddox and Ronald Darby are out, and they have a number of other players who are banged up.

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Although the Vikings wide receivers have been really unhappy with Cousins and the downfield passing game this season, this could be an opportunity for them to get on track. If the Vikings offensive line can protect Cousins, Minnesota’s wideouts should win their matchups.

Will the Vikings be Able to Run The Ball?

One of the keys to success for this new Vikings offense has been running the football. Running back Dalvin Cook has been electric as he’s currently second in the NFL with 542 rushing yards. He’s surpassed the 110-yard mark in four of his five starts this season while scoring at least one touchdown in four of five as well.

The issue here is that the Eagles enter Week 6 as the No. 1 rush defense in the NFL. They’ve allowed 63.0 rushing yards per game this season, which is the fewest per game in the NFL. Opponents have compiled a total of just 315 rushing yards against them this season while averaging 3.2 yards per game.

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If the Vikings can’t run and the game is put on Cousins’ shoulders, we tend to know what happens.

What’s The Best Bet?

We know how this script plays out as we’ve seen this movie many times. Cousins doesn’t do well against good teams but I actually think he’ll do well in this spot. The Eagles secondary is really banged up and they’re ranked 27th in terms of pass defense.

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I see the Eagles winning this game by a narrow margin but I actually expect to see an over here. Both teams will have to resort to the pass as both defenses should win the matchups against the run. Less running and more passing should lead to an over as both quarterbacks should have good games here.

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