This is my party game. The game this week that could literally turn into a points party. It’s the Minnesota Vikings and Cincinnati Bengals and it’s at 1pm ET on FOX. If you are an under person, you should look away because I think we could see some magic. This has all the hallmarks of a wild, first week 37-30 type game where under people stop watching in the first quarter. It’s also perfect for a same game parlay.
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Cincinnati Bengals -2.5 (+150) * alt line
Minnesota Vikings vs Cincinnati Bengals over 47.5 (+105) *alt line
Minnesota Vikings team total over 24.5 (-104)
Parlay odds: +1061
Cincinnati Bengals -2.5 (+150) * alt line
Ask yourself this, why can’t the Bengals win this game outright and cover 2.5 points? That’s a fair question and it’s one that I have the answer to (probably). There really is no reason. Cincinnati could easily hang 40 on these guys. Minnesota looked flat in the preseason. Denver boat-raced them in the first game and Patrick Mahomes diced them up in the third and final game. Maybe it’s because they didn’t play their starters or whatever. They did the same thing last season and gave up 43 first-week points to the Green Bay Packers. I’m not saying Joe Burrow is Aaron Rodgers or Patrick Mahomes, but he’s good enough to put points on the board against the Vikings and that’s all we need him to do.
For more on this one, check out our full game preview for Minnesota Vikings vs Cincinnati Bengals.
Minnesota Vikings vs Cincinnati Bengals over 47.5 (+105) *alt line
© Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports
If the Bengals are going to cover 2.5 points then this thing is probably going over. It’s science. Their defense will likely not be very good. Cornerback Trea Waynes has already been ruled out, so he won’t even get a chance to face his old team. Eli Apple is going to start and that means production from whomever he’s covering. That’s just football. It’s worth noting that the Vikings hung around with the Packers in last year’s opener so it’s not like Kirk and them are just going to fold when Burrow unleashes his wrath. Quite the opposite. I think this one will see 50+ but I’m playing it safe here by saying only 47.5. That’s called responsible wagering people.
An alt total of 51.5 +175 is also being offered and mathematically this game would have to hit over 51.5 if the Vikings were to score at least 24.5 points and the Bengals cover 2.5. The issue is, FanDuel won’t boost the odds if we put 51.5 in this parlay. It’s still +1061 so I left the 47.5 for anyone that is trying to patch together their own parlay from this piece. I hope that makes sense.
Minnesota Vikings team total over 24.5 (-104)
I’m so confident that the Vikings will score points that I am willing to throw their team total into the mix too. The logic is simple, if I think they will lose a 37-30 type game, then I should take their team total over 24.5 because that’s how numbers work — 30 is more than 24.5. Look, I’m not a Kirk Cousins guy but this is exactly the type of game that he shows up for. A Sunday afternoon game against a perennial bottom-feeder missing guys in their secondary. In games like this, he is a 300+ yards guy. The Bengals weren’t terrible against wide receivers last season but they did give up the TD to the position. In fact, only 4 teams in the entire NFL gave up more receiving TDs to the position. And now Eli Apple is out there running around. It’s not that I think the Vikings won’t score, I just think the Bengals will score more.
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