Surprising Opening Betting Line for Falcons at Vikings

With the form of the two teams involved, Vegas has set a curious line for the Atlanta Falcons trip to face the Minnesota Vikings.

Atlanta Falcons Kirk Cousins will hear a lot from Minnesota Vikings fans in his return to Minnesota this week. / Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

I might bury my head in the Minnesota snow to hide from the 10-2 Vikings. Toss some earmuffs while you’re at it in preparation for the 100 “Kirk Cousins Returns to Minnesota” segments for the (6-6) Atlanta Falcons’ uphill matchup at U.S. Bank Stadium.

FanDuel’s opening lines started the Vikings as a 4.5-point favorite and the over/under for the Sunday, December 8th game at 46.5 points. That’s roughly the Vegas books projecting a 25-21 Vikings win.

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No better than the Falcons have played offensively during their three-game losing streak (averaging a blinding 12 points per game), Vegas was relatively friendly. Too friendly?

What do they know that we don’t know? Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins is due to go nuclear in Minnesota, right?

Head Coach Kevin O’Connell’s Vikings are averaging 24.8 PPG riding a five-game winning streak heat-seeking missile towards the playoffs. He's the leading candidate for NFL coach of the year and has made journeyman quarterback Sam Darnold a lot of money this offseason.

Defensive Coordinator Brian Flores is schematically talented with the NFL’s best (Kansas City’s Steve Spagnuolo, Philadelphia’s Vic Fangio, Cleveland’s Jim Schwartz, etc.). He puts most quarterbacks in a hectic, overstimulated stress ball this season, blitzing and disguising coverage looks that lead to interceptions.

The Vikings lead the NFL with 18 interceptions, two ahead of the Houston Texans who have played an extra game. They're fourth in the NFL with 39 sacks, and the three teams ahead of them, Denver (47), Houston (42), and Baltimore (41) have all played 13 games to the Vikings' 12.

Cousins is as experienced in defensive recognition against this system as anyone, but toting a 0:6 TD/INT ratio the last three weeks leaves no one feeling good, Vegas included.

Cousins’s 13 interceptions lead the NFL and set him up to surpass his career high (14). Save it for another week, Chainz.

The Falcons have to right the ship with a clean win on the road or they'll likely staring up at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the NFC South who are at home against the 2-10 Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday.

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