Congratulations to the Minnesota Vikings.
On Sunday they knocked off a Super Bowl contending Buffalo Bills team on the road thanks to some chaotic football in the final two minutes and Justin Jefferson’s candidate for the Greatest Catch in Football History.
Minnesota’s reward? A big ole shrug from oddsmakers.
Despite becoming the talk of the NFL on Monday with a rather pristine 8-1 record, the Vikings (+1) opened as home underdogs in Week 11 when the Dallas Cowboys visit Minnesota.
It’s rare an division-leading team gets to play the “no one believes in us” card the game after a season-defining win, but the Vikings have found a way.
Early betting tracked by Action Network shows the Vikings getting 58 percent of all bets against the spread but 68 percent of the money wagered is backing the Cowboys to cover.
For what it’s worth, Dallas is 6-3 against the spread this season while Minnesota is 4-4-1, and while the game isn’t in primetime, it will get the afternoon time slot on CBS, making it widely available. The spread would also seem to suggest oddsmakers believe Buffalo might not be as good as previously thought and Dallas might not be as average as it looked earlier in the year—even after an overtime loss to the Green Bay Packers in Week 10.
After all, the Cowboys were a fourth down away from holding a 7-2 record and the Vikings are a very fortunate end-zone fumble away from entering this matchup with the same amount of wins and losses.
Maybe these teams are more evenly matched than many were willing to admit on Monday morning.
Oddsmakers, as usual, were just getting ahead of the game.
