3 reasons Vikings are favorites for Sunday’s matchup

Sports bettors will watch a thrilling NFL Week 10 cross-conference battle when the NFC North’s 7-1 Vikings travel to Buffalo this weekend to face the AFC East’s 6-2 Bills in what should be one of the most exciting offensive duels of the 2022 NFL regular season.

The oddsmakers at BetUS.com have listed Buffalo Bills at –175. Meanwhile, Minnesota Vikings are listed at +150 on the “money line.”

“This ‘money line’ means that a $50 bet on Buffalo Bills over the Vikings would have a payout of $78.57 ($28.57 plus the original $50 bet). Therefore, the same $50 bet on Minnesota to be the winner would have a payout of $125 ($75 plus the original $50 bet),” Barry Barger, a senior betting analyst at BetUS, said.

Despite the Bills being the oddsmakers’ favorite, there are three reasons why bettors prefer the Vikings:

Josh Allen elbow injury

There’s concern going into this game about the status of Josh Allen, the Bills’ quarterback injured his elbow last week at the end of the loss to the Jets, and now his availability for Week 10 is up in the air. Coach Sean McDermott said Friday his quarterback’s status is “hour-to-hour.”

“This created a huge impact on the bettors' decisions, they know that Bills are one of the best teams in the NFL thanks to Josh Allen,” Barger said.

Right now, the numbers are favoring the Vikings. The spread is 3.5-point, and 72% of the wagers support the Minnesota Vikings, while only 27% are going with the Buffalo Bills.

“But the bigger point is Minnesota’s run game being much better than Buffalo and Josh Allen is Buffalo's leading rusher, without him another knock on the Bills,” says Barger.

Brother vs Brother

It will be interesting to watch the Cook brothers (both running backs) facing each other. Dalvin Cook leads the Vikings with 608 rushing yards and 5 rushing touchdowns, meanwhile, his brother James Cook has 147 rushing yards and 1 rushing touchdown for Buffalo.

“This brothers’ matchup between the veteran running back and his rookie brother has its own wagers,” Barger said. “The wagers are expecting to watch who will score the first touchdown and Dalvin Cook is listed at +700, or an implied probability to score first touchdown of 12%, meanwhile James Cook is listed at +2500, or an implied probability to score first touchdown of 3%.”

Wide receivers’ battle

Bills wide receiver Stefon Diggs will face his former team the Minnesota Vikings for the first time since becoming a Buffalo Bill in March 2020.

Since Diggs left Minnesota, the Vikings drafted wide receiver Justin Jefferson, who was named a second-team All-Pro and received Pro Bowl honors in his rookie season.

Diggs is the oddsmakers’ favorite to score the first touchdown listed at +650, or an implied probability to score first touchdown of 13%, on the other hand Jefferson is listed at +750, or an implied probability to score first touchdown of 11%.

Diggs and Jefferson are two of the NFL’s best wide receivers, and since 2020, Diggs has had 290 catches (2nd in the NFL), 3,617 receiving yards (4th), and 25 touchdown receptions (tied for 7th). Over that span, Jefferson has 255 catches (5th), 3,883 receiving yards (1st), and 20 touchdown receptions (12th).

“For this game, the lean is toward the Minnesota Vikings as the status of Josh Allen is uncertain. Among the Cook brothers, the oddsmakers’ favorite is Dalvin over James, and in the wide receiver battle, Stefon Diggs is also favored,” concludes Barger.

This matchup between divisional leaders with different reputations can be watched on November 13, 2022, at 1:00 PM ET on FOX.