The Minnesota Vikings fresh off of two weeks rest face one of the hottest team in the playoffs when the Dallas Cowboys visit the Metrodome on Sunday January 17th.
The Vikings (-150) are 2.5-point NFL playoffs betting favorites over the Cowboys (+130) and the over/under is 45.5.
Minnesota finished the season with a dominating 44-7 victory over the New York Giants showing that the Vikings are playing well and ready for the playoffs.
They won’t get the same results as they did against New York, but you can be sure that Minnesota will be in top form when they play the Cowboys.
Dallas is the hottest team in the league right now. They ended New Orleans’ perfect season and then knocked off the previous hottest team in the league twice in a row and in convincing fashion.
Cowboys running back Marion Barber has been missing practice with a knee problem and might not be ready to go for the game. But Dallas has some very capable replacements in Tashard Choice and Felix Jones.
Choice and Jones picked up 190 yards between them last week against the Eagles while Barber was limited to just three carries.
Having three good backs can really make a difference if the game plan is to wear the defense out on the run, but the Minnesota defense is probably hoping to see a lot of runs.
The Vikings defense has allowed just an average of just 87.1 rushing yards per game, so don’t expect any big rushing plays like the 72-yarder that Jones had last week.
As good as Dallas’ running game has been, this offense hinges on how quarterback Tony Romo distributes the ball and Romo has been doing a particularly good job of keeping defenses off balance of late.
Minnesota hasn’t lost at home all season, but then New England hadn’t lost a playoff game at home in like forever and we all know what happened there.
There are a lot of good reasons to like Minnesota in this game, but given the way Dallas is playing and how Romo is improving I smell a good chance for an upset.
