NFL Betting Gets in Full Swing This Weekend
By Charles Jay
What constitutes being “healthy” in the National Football League? That’s a good question for NFL betting aficionados at BetAnySports to consider.
That’s because the result of Sunday’s game between the Minnesota Vikings and Cincinnati Bengals (1 PM ET at Paul Brown Stadium) may hinge upon how healthy Joe Burrow is.
Burrow injured his ACL and MCL in Week 10 of last season, That took place in November, so this becomes a difficult road back. But he has to be ready to withstand the rigors of the NFL.
Frankly, this may have been more of a daunting task if this was a few years ago, when the Vikings had a feared pass rush and top-notch secondary. But Minnesota frustrated head coach Mike Zimmer (a former defensive coordinator – with the Bengals, in fact) with their inability to stop people last year. So no matter how many yards Kirk Cousins was able to throw for, they were destined to miss the playoffs, which is exactly what happened.
Minnesota finished with a record of 7-9, and gave up 475 points. That was the third highest total in the league.
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Bengals-Vikings: Here are the numbers
In the NFL betting odds at BetAnySports, the Vikings are laying points on the road:
Minnesota Vikings -3 (-115)
Cincinnati Bengals +3 (-105)
Over 47 points -110
Under 47 points -110
Bengals-Vikings: Does Cincy have a case?
Our big concern with the Bengals is that, according to reports, Burrow was somewhat apprehensive about testing the knee in training camp. As such, you’d have to wonder about his own confidence that he is 100%, or close to it.
But there is no question that he is going to have some people to throw to, even acknowledging the departure of AJ Green. The Bengals passed up on drafting a premium lineman and instead picked WR Ja’Marr Chase, who played with Burrow at LSU. There’s nothing wrong with Tee Higgins and Tyler Boyd.
People have been waiting for Joe Mixon to explode, and maybe he’s ready. Burrow averaged just under 270 yards per game, so this team will go on the attack. Maybe the Vikings don’t have the defense to be able to handle it.
Bengals-Vikings: Does Minny have a case?
One of the best cases you can make for the Vikings is that they have the top ground threat on the field. He’s Dalvin Cook, of course, and he averaged 137 yards from scrimmage per game, a higher figure than that which was registered by Derrick Henry.
The Bengals had very little success slowing down opponents on the ground, giving up 5.1 yards per attempt. So Cook could literally control the game. For Minnesota, this also means setting up Kirk Cousins to throw, although he did that on only 54% of plays last year.
Still, he had 4265 yards and 35 touchdowns.
Bengals-Vikings: The conclusion
On an overall basis, we would have to give an edge to Minnesota, but we can understand the apprehension about laying points on the road with them. We know that the Bengals will try to play up-tempo, and that head coach Zac Taylor is going to make sure they fill the air with footballs. Burrow averaged 40 attempts per game.
Since we know that both teams have offensive capability but defenses that are an iffy proposition, much of the evidence supports an OVER on this contest.
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