Dallas Cowboys at Minnesota Vikings Betting Preview/Player Prop

The Sunday Night Football matchup in Week 8 of the NFL season features a pair of NFC teams that are playing well. The Minnesota Vikings host the Dallas Cowboys, and this should be one of the better games of the entire weekend.

Dallas comes into this game with a 5-1 record on the year, and they have rattled off five straight wins since losing to Tampa Bay in Week 1. The Cowboys have taken complete control of the NFC East Division, but they want one of the top playoff seeds.

Minnesota has won two straight games, and they are now back to the .500 mark for the first time this season. The Vikings are still well out of the playoff race at this time, but a win in Week 8 could get them right back in the discussion.

The Dallas Cowboys are 2.5-point betting favorites over the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday Night Football.

Dak Delivering For Dallas

Dallas quarterback Dak Prescott suffered a gruesome injury a season ago, but he has returned with a vengeance this season. Prescott has thrown for 1,813 yards and 16 touchdowns through the first six-game, but there is a chance he misses this game with an injury.

Running back Ezekiel Elliott got off to a slow start to the year, but he is now over 500 rushing yards and five touchdowns. Dallas is averaging over 160 rushing yards per game, and they might have to lean on that ground game on Sunday night.

The Cowboys defense is allowing more than 24 points per game, and that unit needs to find a way to play better as the season moves along.

Cook, Cousins Must Lead Vikings

The Minnesota Vikings have plenty of weapons on the offensive side of the ball, but Kirk Cousins and Dalvin Cook are the two most important. Minnesota is scoring just 24 points per game this season, but they could become a much more explosive offense.

Cousins has thrown for 1,729 yards and 13 touchdowns this season, and he has also taken care of the ball. Cook has battled through some injuries already, but he has the ability to be one of the best in the NFL.

The defense for Minnesota is improving, but that unit will have to find a way to stop the run on Sunday night.

Cowboys Cruise to Another Win

The status of Dak Prescott is a big story leading up to this game, but it likely isn’t going to matter much in the outcome. Even though Minnesota has started to play better football of late, the Cowboys are one of the best teams in the NFL this season.

The Vikings just haven’t been able to get separation from any teams on their schedule this season, and this game could get away from them in a hurry. Dallas has been putting together a terrific season, and the Cowboys will put on a show in front of a national audience.

Take the Dallas Cowboys -2.5 as they go into Minnesota and pick up a double-digit win on Sunday night.

Player Prop

Ezekiel Elliott (-120) Over 74.5 Yards Rushing

With all the questions surrounding Dak Prescott’s calf, the Cowboys will likely rely more heavily on Elliott tonight. Even if Prescott plays (he’s been listed as a game-time decision), the luxury of having the two-time NFL rushing leader in the backfield should be too good to pass up.

And after an “off” season last year when the former Ohio State back failed to break the 1,000-yard mark for just the second time in his career and averaged only 4.0 ypg, the three-time Pro Bowler looks to be back in vintage form.

Coming into the Vikings game, Elliott has gained 521 yards – good for fifth in the league – and boosted his average to 5.1 while scoring 5 TDs. That has him averaging 86.8 rushing yards per game and has him on pace for just under 1,400 yards on the ground this season.

In the three previous games he’s played against Minnesota, Elliott has averaged 78.7 yards rushing on 20.3 carries. And that was against some of the best run defenses in the league at the time. This season, the Vikings average of 134.4 ypg allowed on the ground ranks just No. 27 in the league.

As Dallas rallies the offense with a banged up Prescott, we’ll look for Elliott (-120) to carry a big load tonight and go over 74.5 yards rushing against Minnesota.

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