NFL Playoffs: Divisional Round Betting Picks for Vikings at 49ers
The Minnesota Vikings pulled off a landscape-changing road upset over the New Orleans Saints in the NFC Wild Card Round. The reward for Minnesota will be another trip as a considerable underdog against the top seed in the NFC, the San Francisco 49ers. Can the Vikings pull off another shocking upset or will the 49ers hold serve against the sixth seed?
NFL Betting Tips: Use RotoGrinders NFL odds to compare NFL Divisional Round lines across the sports betting industry and determine which legal US sportsbook is best for your NFL betting picks.
NFL Divisional Round Betting Picks — Vikings at 49ers
53% of bets backing the 49ers and 71% of bets are on the over, per VegasInsider.com.
NFL Super Bowl 2020 Odds
NFL Super Bowl 54 Winner
San Francisco 49ers +335 – PointsBet
Minnesota Vikings +1500 – FanDuel Sportsbook
NFC Champion
San Francisco 49ers +100 – PointsBet
Minnesota Vikings +650 – PointsBet
Click here for more about Super Bowl 54 odds for all eight teams before the Divisional Round of the NFL Playoffs
Also read Three Ways to Bet on the Super Bowl without Betting on the Super Bowl
NFL Divisional Round Analysis — Vikings at 49ers
The San Francisco 49ers return to the playoffs in a home matchup against the surprise, Minnesota Vikings. The 49ers capped the regular season with an essential victory against their division rival Seahawks to secure the top seed in the NFC. Now, instead of a rematch with the aforementioned foes, the 49ers welcome the Vikings after Minnesota toppled playoff pools with an upset win over the New Orleans Saints.
The Vikings played a well-balanced football game from start to finish after opening up the game with an Adam Thielen fumble. Dalvin Cook amassed 130 yards on 31 touches — adding two rushing touchdowns. The defense held Drew Brees to 208 passing yards while forcing two turnovers from the quarterback, including a catastrophic fumble when the Saints seemed poised to usurp control of the game late. The Saints were able to tie the football game and force overtime but Kirk Cousins and company drove right down the field with the help of a very redemptive 43-yard reception to Adam Thielen. Kyle Rudolph caught a (questionable?) corner fade in the back of the endzone to send the Vikings forward to San Francisco.
The Saints crushed the hopes of daily fantasy and playoff fantasy players alike with an abysmal 299-yard performance caused by an impressive performance from the Vikings’ defensive front. The Vikings pressured Drew Brees nine times per Pro Football Reference.
The 49ers are a different animal. San Francisco finished second in the NFL in points per game (29.9) and third in average scoring margin (+10.6). In the matchup versus the Seahawks in Week 17, the 49ers returned to form only allowing 348 total yards while pressuring Russell Wilson 20 times. The 49ers’ offense is fueled by an innovative run-first attack; the Niners finished in the top five in rushing attempts per game while finishing in the bottom five of passing attempts. That said, the fewer pass attempts were extremely efficient as San Francisco finished the season with 7.9 yards per pass attempt — a tenth below the Cowboys’ top 8.0 mark.
Likely because of their gameplan, the 49ers did not cover once as seven-point or more favorites in four attempts. The Vikings are 4-1 ATS in their last five games overall.
NFL Divisional Round Betting Picks
I am not inclined to attack this game from a total or spread perspective at the time of this writing. The spread has not moved throughout the week and the total is bet down from the opening 46-point number. My current thought is to wait and see if the 49ers are bet enough on FanDuel to push the -7 number (priced at -120) up to 7.5. Assuming that happens, I would likely jump on Minnesota at +7.5 At the time of this writing, I will settle for even money on the Vikings 7-point cushion.
The Pick: Minnesota Vikings +7 (+100) (FanDuel)
NFL Divisional Round — Vikings at 49ers Player Props
NFL Divisional Round — Kirk Cousins Over 228.5 Passing Yards on FanDuel Sportsbook
Kirk Cousins was not able to exceed his passing prop last week versus the Saints because game script afforded the Vikings the opportunity to feed Dalvin Cook the ball. Projected as a large underdog versus the 49ers, Cousins will need to throw the ball more in this contest. RotoGrinders GridironIQ:“https://rotogrinders.com/gridironiq projected Cousins for 269.21 passing yards. Even if you don’t believe the number will be that high, 229 yards feel a bit low if the Vikings are playing from behind.
Over 228.5 Passing Yards -112
NFL Divisional Round — Emmanuel Sanders Over 47.5 Receiving Yards on FanDuel Sportsbook
The Vikings ranked last in fantasy points allowed to wide receivers this season. Emmanuel Sanders receiving prop seems a bit low considering the matchup. FanDuel and DraftKings post matching yardage totals but the price on FanDuel is +102 at the time of this writing. Give me the over before the price adjusts.
Over 47.5 Receiving Yards +102
NFL Divisional Round Player Props at Monkey Night Fight
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Here are my favorite picks from Monkey Knife Fight for the opening NFC Divisional Round game:
Jimmy Garoppolo Over 255.5 Passing Yards
Kirk Cousins Over 230.5 Passing Yards
Image Credit: USA Today Sports Images