Betting Preview
Game Details
- Who: Minnesota Vikings at Carolina Panthers
- When: Sunday, Oct. 1 (Week 4)
- Time: 1:00 p.m. EST
- Where: Bank of America Stadium (Charlotte, NC)
Betting Odds Summary
- Moneyline: Vikings -218, Panthers +180
- Spread: Vikings -4.5 (-110), Panthers +4.5 (-110)
- Total: Over/Under 46.5 (-110/-110)
Odds from DraftKings Sportsbook. Subject to change.
The Minnesota Vikings suffered a gut-wrenching Week 3 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers at home after Kirk Cousins threw an interception in the end zone with less than a minute left in the game. A touchdown would have resulted in an unlikely win for the Vikings after the Chargers made an exceptionally suspect decision to go for it on 4th-and-1 from their own 24-yard line with 1:51 remaining in the fourth quarter.
The game was a shootout that showed both Minnesota’s aptitude for aerial attack offensively and its susceptibility to the pass defensively.
Cousins finished with 367 passing yards and three touchdowns, but the Vikings gave up 405 passing yards and three touchdowns to Justin Herbert. Not to mention, Herbert completed over 85% of his passes against the impossibly weak Minnesota secondary.
Meanwhile, the Andy Dalton-led Carolina Panthers (Bryce Young suffered an ankle injury in Game 2 and was unavailable) put together a strong first half but were eventually bested by the Seattle Seahawks. The Panthers defense showed some resistance in the red zone through the first two quarters but collapsed towards the end of the game.
Which team will avenge their narrow Week 3 loss in this NFC matchup?
Moneyline
Minnesota’s moneyline odds of -218 indicate that it’s a road favorite against Carolina. The Vikings are well-positioned to win this road game assuming they put last week’s tough loss behind them and hit the reset button.
Outside of that forced pass in the red zone at the end of Minnesota’s game against Los Angeles, Cousins has looked solid this season, completing nearly 70% of his passes en route to an NFL-high nine touchdowns through three games for the Vikings.
Cousins’ arm talent has played a big role in Minnesota’s offensive success so far this season, but Justin Jefferson is still the most important piece for the Vikings as the No. 1 receiver in the NFL.
Minnesota has suffered three heartbreaking single-score losses in 2023 but should be able to come away with a road win against Carolina here. The Panthers do not have the offensive talent to keep up with the Vikings, and their defense just gave up 37 points to the Seahawks.
Point Spread
Minnesota is a 4.5-point road favorite on the spread for this matchup, but can it cover?
As discussed, the Vikings have the firepower necessary to outduel the Panthers, who simply don’t have the talent at quarterback and other skill positions to compete for four quarters.
Pro Football Focus has Minnesota ranked third in overall offense, behind only the Detroit Lions and Miami Dolphins. Meanwhile, Carolina’s offense ranks behind the abysmal Zach Wilson-led New York Jets.
The last key point that should boost the Vikings is the immediate help in the run game. Cam Akers will be involved in Week 4 against Carolina, which should further elevate this already talented offense.
Minnesota ranks second-to-last in the NFL in rushing yards per game and 19th in rushing yards per attempt. This can be partly attributed to its style of play, but Akers should bring more balance to this team. The Vikings should be a solid play in this spot.
Over/Under
The Over/Under for this matchup rests around 46.5 points. Sportsbooks are not projecting this to be a super high-scoring matchup, but Minnesota is more than capable of hanging a big number on any given Sunday.
The Vikings (and their opponents) have gone Over this point total in two of their three games so far in the 2023 season, while the Panthers have only played in one game that has gone over 46.5 total points. What should we expect from this game?
It’s reasonable to expect Young to put together his best week yet against this Minnesota defense that was just sliced up by Herbert to the tune of 405 passing yards. If Young gets the start, the Over has viability.
Player Prop
Cousins’ play might not be resulting in wins right now for the Vikings, as they have too many team flaws to overcome at the moment. However, his passing numbers have been impressive.
Cousins currently leads the league in passing touchdowns (nine) and passing yards (1,075) through the first three weeks of the NFL season. Will that continue through the end of the regular season? It’s hard to say, but Minnesota is bound to be a pass-heavy team this year.
Cousins’ passing yards player prop line is at 277.5 yards for the game against Carolina despite the fact that he has been averaging over 358 yards in the air thus far. The Over could make sense, even though the Vikings will be on the road.
After all, Cousins threw for 364 yards on the road against the Eagles, who have an objectively superior secondary to Carolina.
Furthermore, the arrival of Cam Akers should help balance the offense, forcing defenses to respect Minnesota’s run game, which has been virtually nonexistent up to this point. That balance will allow Jefferson to work the entire field more, and his mere presence will also open up Jordan Addison, K.J. Osborn and T.J. Hockenson in the process.
Photo by Mike Comer/Getty Images
