Betting sites for NFL favor the Minnesota Vikings against the San Francisco 49ers. And rightfully so, if we go by each team’s performance last season. The Vikes finished 13-3, their best record since 1998. Additionally, they clinched a first-round bye for the first time since 2009. On the other hand, the Niners started 0-9 and finished 6-10 and missed the playoffs for the fourth straight year. However, the 49ers showed a great deal of improvement along the way. Especially after former Patriots backup QB Jimmy Garoppolo landed the starting gig. Conversely, the Vikings will have to start over at QB with former Redskins starter Kirk Cousins. In a vacuum, it would be safe to assume that Cousins is better than Garoppolo. Ditto for the Vikes and the Niners as a whole. But we still don’t know just how good Jimmy G. can be.
Betting San Francisco
You can take the boy out of New England, but not necessarily take New England out of the boy. Garoppolo started and won the Niners’ last five games of the 2017 season. And after each one of those victories, he received a congratulatory text from Patriots head coach Bill Belichick. That must have been like crack to a junkie to Jimmy G’s morale and confidence. But wait, there is more. They say never to meet your idols. However, Garoppolo is all the better for the time he spent rooming with Tom Brady in the Pats’ QB room. As SI points out, there is “a bit of Brady in the 49ers’ huddle.” And who knows? There may be a lot more whence that came.
All things considered, though, the jury is still out on the Niners. According to Bleacher Report, are considered “the NFL Cavaliers, led by LeBron Garoppolo.” Except what they actually are is “the most overhyped team coming off a 6-10 season in human history.” On the other hand, the Mercury News says that the “Super Bowl is not a crazy goal for 49ers.” Well, perception is reality, as they say in the parlance of our times.
Betting Minnesota
ESPN says, via the Star Tribune, that Kirk Cousins is a “third-tier” quarterback. What that means in lay terms is that he is “a legitimate starter, but needs a heavier running game and/or defense to win.” The Star Tribune’s Michael Rand contends that Cousins may be a “tier-3” QB, but is being paid like a “tier-2” one. Ergo, he should play as the latter as opposed to the former. And, were he to do so, the Vikes could go all the way to the Super Bowl. More immediately, though, “second-tier” might suffice to beat the Niners. That would be a “quarterback [who] can carry his team sometimes, but not as consistently. He can handle pure passing situations in doses and/or possesses other dimensions that are special enough to elevate him above Tier 3. He has a hole or two in his game.” And Cousins is just that, if not more.
San Francisco 49ers vs. Minnesota Vikings Sportsbook Odds and Info
- Date: September 9, 2018
- Time: 10:00 am (PT)
- Venue: US Bank Stadium
- Best online sportsbooks betting odds from Intertops.eu:
- San Francisco 49ers +5.5 1.90 / O 46.5 1.90 / 2.90
- Minnesota Vikings -5.5 1.90 / U 46.5 1.90 / 1.43
Betting sites for NFL trends
- The 49ers are 5-0 SU in their last five games.
- The 49ers are 4-1 ATS in their last five games.
- The total has gone over in the 49ers’ last three games.
- The Vikings are 4-1 SU in their last five games.
- The Vikings are 2-3 ATS in their last five games.
- The total has gone over in three of the Vikings’ last five games.
Betting Prediction: The 49ers will put up a valiant fight, and maybe even cover the spread. But Kirk Cousins will start with the right foot in Minnesota.
