MNF Pick: Minnesota Vikings vs. Seattle Seahawks
Minnesota Vikings (8-3 SU, 6-5 ATS) vs. Seattle Seahawks (9-2 SU, 6-5 ATS)
Date/Time: Monday, December 2, 8:15 PM EST
Where: Century Link Stadium, Seattle, Washington
TV: ESPN
Point Spread: Min +3 / Sea -3 (WagerWeb – GIANT 50% Real Cash Bonus! – 19 Point NFL Teasers!)
Over/Under Total: 47
Seattle is the site of the Week 13 NFL Monday Night matchup with the Vikings visiting the Pacific Northwest to battle with Seahawks. As we enter the final month of the season, these teams are battling for their respective division titles, and 5Dimes has made the Seahawks 3 favorites and set the game total at 49. The play this week is to take the Vikings and the points and play the Over. Here is the handicap.
Minnesota Will Light Up the Seahawk D
The Vikings enter this contest 4th in the league in yards per play and are top 7 in both passing and rushing yards per attempt. They have the most balanced attack in the league, which will keep the Seahawks defense on their heels this week. Minnesota should have all of the playmakers available to them, with wide receiver Adam Thielen back for his first action since week 7. Thielen, along with Stefon Diggs, makes up one of the best receiving tandems in the league. Kirk Cousins is having the best season of his career, throwing for 21 touchdowns to only three interceptions and should be able to keep rolling in Seattle. However, the Viking attack starts with running back Dalvin Cook. Cook is averaging over 130 yards per game on 20 rushes and four catches. Cook has also averaged a touchdown per game, so Seattle will have to focus on keeping him out of the endzone.
Seattle’s defense may be overmatched by the Vikings. The Seahawks have looked good the last two weeks against Philadelphia and San Francisco, but they caught both of these teams with significant injuries. Seattle may be improving on the defensive side of the ball but are still ranked 24th in the league allowing 5.9 yards per play. More troubling for the Hawks is they rank 29th in the league in passing yards allowed and average less than two sacks per game. Seattle’s strong performances in the last two weeks may make people forget that they allowed over 400 total yards in four of the five previous games. Jadeveon Clowney couldn’t answer the bell to play last week. He is easily the best lineman the Seahawks trot out and their key to stopping the run, so if he is not ready to go this week, it will be a long day for Pete Carroll’s stop unit. Six teams have scored 26 or more points this year against Seattle, and Minnesota should make that seven on Monday night.
Minnesota’s Defense Can Limit Seattle
Russell Wilson is having another stellar season, sharing the league lead throwing for 24 touchdowns while surrendering only three interceptions. Tyler Lockett has become the primary target for Wilson, hauling in 63 passes while catching over 80% of his targets. Rookie D.K. Metcalf and Josh Gordon fill out the receiving corps and will be a challenge for the Viking secondary. But Carroll’s offensive game plan is to establish the run. Chris Carson has been the workhorse with a little bit of Rashaad Penny sprinkled in. Last week Penny had the best game of his young career, but the two runners are carbon copies of each other, both hardnosed runners that seek out contact and grind out every yard they can get. Seattle’s sub-par offensive line force the runners to do a lot of grinding, and that will be the case on Monday. The line has also allowed 33 sacks, including six last week in Philly. The Vikings front four will be licking their chops as they line across from this group.
Minnesota has the reputation of being an elite D in the league but has been middle of the pack this year. They are 11th, allowing 5.3 yards per play, with their strength being their front 7 – which is a problem for Seattle. They are top 10 in both opponents rushing yards and sacks, so they match up well with the Seahawk offense. The Viking defense is very similar to the Eagle defense that held Seattle to 17 points last week. The Vikings can get beat on the back end, but only if Wilson has enough time to work down the field, which isn’t likely. Everson Griffen and Danielle Hunter have combined for 15 ½ sacks and will be harassing Wilson all night. We have all seen Wilson get out of some jams during his career, but this Viking D should get the best of him this week.
The Vikings Are Great Road Dogs
Mike Zimmer took over as Viking head coach in 2014, and since then, Minnesota is 23-14 as underdogs. Zimmer will have his team ready for this prime-time game, though prime-time hasn’t been the strength of his quarterback. Cousins has the reputation of not showing up for night games, but he is 2-0 this year, including a big win in Dallas in week 10. Seattle has the reputation of being unbeatable at home, but both of their losses this year happened at home, and they are only 1-4 ATS at the Link in 2019. Seattle has only one win this year by more than one score, so they play close games, and this one should be the same. These are 2 of the best-coached teams in the league, so expect this game to stay close and the team with the best overall talent to come out on top. Even if Wilson works some magic, the final score should be within a field goal.
Betting Trends
The Minnesota Vikings are 5-1 ATS in their last 6 games following a ATS loss.
Vikings are 40-16-1 ATS in their last 57 games on fieldturf.
The Seattle Seahawks are 1-5 ATS in their last 6 home games.
Play the Road Dog Vikings
The play this week on MNF is to play Minnesota +3 and play the Over. Five of the last seven games for both teams have been at or above 49. Both offenses should have enough success to push this game into the 50s. Bet your Vikings pick and all your NFL bets at -105 discounted odds (this will save you TONS of cash) at the web’s best football betting site: 5Dimes!
