It was a rollercoaster of a season for the Minnesota Vikings in 2020. At one point, the Vikings were looking like a bottom-three team in the league at 1-5. At another point, they were the seventh seed in the NFC Playoff. When the book closed on the 2020 season, the Vikings were out of the playoff and moving into cleanup duty. Offensively, there’s a lot to be excited about; rookie star Justin Jefferson broke records and turned heads. Dalvin Cook had another superstar season and finished behind just Derrick Henry in rushing yards and Kirk Cousins finally came around.
The liability for Minnesota was their defense, which was gashed time and time again. The unit gave up the fourth-most points per game and 10.3 more points per game than their 2019 team (sixth best– the biggest drop in the NFL). It wasn’t the season Vikings fans had hoped for and offseason changes are coming to their roster. Even Zimmer himself was quoted as saying his defense is “one of the worst [he’s] ever had.” With the top-four highest-paid free agents from Minnesota coming from the defensive side of the ball, the 2021 Vikings will have a much different look.
Vikings futures odds
Vikings Super Bowl odds
The Minnesota Vikings have been eliminated from playoff contention.
Vikings NFC North odds
The Packers clinched the NFC North and the Vikings have been eliminated from the division race.
2020 Minnesota Vikings odds and schedule
| Week | Date | Time | Opponent | Opening spread |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Sunday, Sept. 13 | 1:00 p.m. ET | vs. Green Bay | Vikings -3.5 |
| Week 2 | Sunday, Sept. 20 | 1:00 p.m. ET | at Indianapolis | Colts -2.5 |
| Week 3 | Sunday, Sept. 27 | 1:00 p.m. ET | vs. Tennessee | Vikings -3 |
| Week 4 | Sunday, Oct. 4 | 1:00 p.m. ET | at Houston | Texans -1 |
| Week 5 | Sunday, Oct. 11 | 8:20 p.m. ET | at Seattle | Seahawks -3.5 |
| Week 6 | Sunday, Oct. 18 | 1:00 p.m. ET | vs. Atlanta | Vikings -3.5 |
| Week 7 | Sunday, Oct. 25 | BYE | ||
| Week 8 | Sunday, Nov. 1 | 1:00 p.m. ET | at Green Bay | Packers -2.5 |
| Week 9 | Sunday, Nov. 8 | 1:00 p.m. ET | vs. Detroit | Vikings -7.5 |
| Week 10 | Monday, Nov. 16 | 8:15 p.m. ET | at Chicago | Bears -0.5 |
| Week 11 | Sunday, Nov. 22 | 4:25 p.m. ET | vs. Dallas | Cowboys -0.5 |
| Week 12 | Sunday, Nov. 29 | 1:00 p.m. ET | vs. Carolina | Vikings -8.5 |
| Week 13 | Sunday, Dec. 6 | 1:00 p.m. ET | vs. Jacksonville | Vikings -11.5 |
| Week 14 | Sunday, Dec. 13 | 1:00 p.m. ET | at Tampa Bay | Buccaneers -0.5 |
| Week 15 | Sunday, Dec. 20 | 1:00 p.m. ET | vs. Chicago | Vikings -3 |
| Week 16 | Friday, Dec. 25 | 4:30 p.m. ET | at New Orleans | Saints -6.5 |
| Week 17 | Sunday, Jan. 3 | 1:00 p.m. ET | at Detroit | N/A |
How to bet on the Minnesota Vikings
Moneyline
All fans and beginner bettors are familiar with moneyline wagers. These ask the simple question: Who will win the game? The more lopsided the matchup is perceived to be, the lower and less profitable the odds for the favorites, while bigger underdogs will carry higher and more rewarding odds to counteract their low likelihood of winning. A standard underdog is likely to be priced at +200 with a $10 bet returning a profit of $20 with an upset win. A -200 favorite would return a profit of $5 with a victory on the same wager.
Point spread
Against the spread bets will pit each team against a point line rather than their opponent, whereby favorites need to win by a certain amount of points and underdogs need to stay within a specified point gap in a loss or win outright. The most common spreads of 2.5, 3.5, 6.5 and 7.5 are set for teams to win by either a field goal or a touchdown. Odds generally range from -120 to +120 with respective profit margins of $8.33 to $12 on a $10 bet. Occasionally, games between two equal opponents will be set as a pick’em with a spread of +/-0.5 or +/-1.
For instance, the Vikings are -3.5 favorites in their Week 1 matchup against the Packers.
Total
The total or Over/Under asks for how many points the two teams will combine to score in the game. A generally unappealing matchup between division bottom feeders with weak offenses will come with a lower total projection of 37.5 to 43.5 points. A primetime spot between two playoff teams with Pro Bowl QBs would be likely to see a total closer to 55.5 or 58.5 points with the national audience wanting to see offensive fireworks.
The game totals and spreads also work hand-in-hand for team totals. Say a total between the Vikings and Lions is set at 54.5. If the Vikings are -7.5 on the spread and expected to win by 8 or more points, their team total would be set at 31 with the Lions’ total at 23.5.
Each of the above three bet types will be heavily influenced throughout a given week by public betting action. Injury updates or mid-season roster moves will also impact the weekly game lines. Additionally, each of these three bets are available either for a whole game or broken down by quarter or half.
A push occurs on the rare occasions of a line being set at an integer number. If a team were to win by exactly 7 points or the final score of the game totaled exactly 54 points, all bets on either side would be refunded in full.
Props
Game props are available for either team or for select star players involved in the game. Over/Unders are set for statistics such as yardage, completions, receptions, touchdowns or turnovers. These lines don’t often carry huge profit margins with odds typically ranging from -120 to +120, but props such as first touchdown bets come with larger player pools and more possibilities.
Season props represent a form of futures bet whereby bettors can back players to reach or fall shy of certain statistical marks as an O/U or to win various awards. Futures bets are also available for teams in the form of win totals, division and conference championships, and the Super Bowl. The larger the pool of options, the greater the variance in the odds and the higher the value for certain options. It’s important to monitor these lines throughout the calendar year and know when to act early at a high number or wait it out in search of better value.
Cousins’ passing yards total is set at 3,750.5 with -110 odds on either side. His passing touchdown total is set at 25.5 with the same -110 odds for both the Over and Under. He fell short of the yardage projection but topped the touchdown total in 2019. These less profitable odds pay just $9.09 on a $10 bet.
Running back Dalvin Cook has his rushing yards projection set at 1,160.5 with -110 odds on both sides of the line. The projection represents a career-high rushing total for the fourth-year back.
Cook and Cousins share +6600 odds to be named the 2020 NFL MVP. A $10 bet on either player would return a profit of $660 with an MVP honor. See below for the most current Dalvin Cook futures odds for 2020.
Futures
Odds will be adjusted throughout the NFL league year with new Super Bowl odds being released almost immediately upon the finish of the prior year’s championship game. Team or player performance, injuries and public betting action cause lines to be adjusted almost continuously. Things such as trades or the NFL Draft can have a huge affect on the futures odds for multiple teams. Select perennial fan favorites such as the New England Patriots and Dallas Cowboys will almost always be priced among the top teams, regardless of their likelihood of winning.
Teasers
Game lines such as spreads and totals can be altered by bettors via teasers. These allow bettors to either “buy” or “sell” points in hopes of more profitable odds or to generate a safer wager to be included in a multi-game parlay. Parlays combine bets from either the same game or multiple games at higher odds. The more bets included, the less likely the parlay is to cash as each individual wager needs to play out correctly.
Mobile sports betting has allowed for a boom in live or in-play betting. This is a great way for fans or viewers either in attendance or watching at home to get action on a game after the opening kickoff. Lines will be adjusted throughout the game based on the score, injuries, or big plays. Always be ready to live-bet a losing team should the opposing QB leave the game or bet the Over following a 50-yard run stopped just shy of the goal line.
2019 Minnesota Vikings season in review
Going 10-6 straight up, the Vikings went 9-7 against the spread in the regular season. They won their games by an average of 6.5 points per outing and covered the spread by 2.8 PPG. They were best at home, going 5-3 against the spread and winning by an average of 8.2 PPG.
The Vikes went 9-7 against the Over/Under in the regular season and topped point projections by just 0.7 PPG. The defense was even stronger at home, where they went 4-4 against projections and fell an average of 2.4 PPG below the line.
As mentioned above, Cousins was rewarded with a contract extension this offseason. He went 10-5 in 15 games played and finished the season with 3,603 yards and 26 touchdowns against just six interceptions on a 69.1 completion percentage. Cook was the true star of the 2019 campaign, as he rushed for a career-high 1,135 yards and 13 touchdowns while adding another 519 yards as a receiver.
The Vikings took a step backward on the defensive side of the ball in 2019. They ranked just 14th in the NFL with 341.6 yards allowed per game, but they still held the opposition to just 18.9 PPG to rank fifth. They also had the fifth-best turnover differential at plus-11, and their 48 team sacks ranked fifth, as well.
Vikings 2020 offseason moves
Key trades: WR Stefon Diggs and 2020 seventh-round pick to the Buffalo Bills for 2020 first-round pick (No. 22), 2020 fifth-round pick, 2020 sixth-round pick, and 2021 fourth-round pick.
Key re-signings: QB Kirk Cousins (two years, $66 million), FB C.J. Ham (four years, $12 million), P Britton Colquitt (three years, $9 million), S Anthony Harris (franchise tag), PK Dan Bailey (three years, $10 million)
Key free agent losses: CB Xavier Rhodes (released, signed with IND), CB Mackensie Alexander (to CIN), WR Laquon Treadwell (to ATL), S Andrew Sendejo (to CLE), DT Linval Joseph (to LAC)
Key free agent signings: DT Michael Pierce (three years, $27 million), WR Tajae Sharpe (one year, $1 million), DE Anthony Zettel (one year, $1 million), OL Dakota Dozier (one year, $1 million)
The Vikings lost several members of a secondary which allowed 233.6 passing yards per game in 2019. While they haven’t made any notable additions thus far in the offseason, outside of Pierce, they’re equipped with two first-round picks following the trade of Diggs. One is likely to be used on a WR and one on a DB, to address the team’s two biggest needs. The offseason has been more about addressing the salary cap for the long term.