Week 2 wraps up with a “Monday Night Football” doubleheader. For the purposes of this post, we’ll specifically be looking at the late game between the Vikings and Eagles which will kick off at Lincoln Financial Field. Both of these clubs were able to pull out wins in the opener with Minnesota handling the Packers, while Philly withstood a late rally by the Lions on the road.
While both are 1-0 entering this head-to-head, only the Vikings were able to cover in the opener, so they are the only club in this matchup looking to remain perfect in the eyes of the betting community. Below, you’ll find out how to watch this matchup and read our gambling breakdown to keep you sharp heading into this prime-time clash.
How to watch
Date: Monday, Sept. 19 | Time: 8:30 p.m. ET
Location: Lincoln Financial Field (Philadelphia)
TV: ABC | Stream: fuboTV (try for free)
Follow: CBS Sports App
Odds: Eagles -2.5, O/U 49
Line movement
Latest Odds: Philadelphia Eagles -2.5
This line opened at Eagles -2.5 back in the spring and mostly stood there throughout the summer. Coming out of Week 1, the line moved to Eagles -3 for a brief period on Sunday night and dropped as low as Eagles -1.5 on Tuesday, but has since come back down and settled at its initial number.
The pick: Eagles -2.5. With this sitting below the full field goal, I’m very comfortable taking an Eagles offense that just put up 38 points in the opener and will now be in front of its home crowd. As much as Justin Jefferson can/will be a problem for an opposing defense, don’t sleep on A.J. Brown’s impact for Philadelphia. In Week 1, he dazzled with 155 yards on 10 catches and 13 targets and should continue to be a key outlet for Jalen Hurts. Also, we can’t ignore Kirk Cousins‘ struggles in prime time, even with the arrival of head coach Kevin O’Connell.
Over/Under total
The total for this game has moved quite considerably since opening at 48 in May. Coming out of Week 1, it jumped to 49.5 on Monday and climbed as high as 51.5 before losing a bit of steam and falling to 49 on Monday morning.
The pick: Over 49. These are two offenses that have the potential to get into the high 30s and sport offensive-minded head coaches in O’Connell and Nick Sirianni. While Minnesota did hold the Packers to just seven points in the opener, that was largely due to Green Bay’s inability to execute (would have had a touchdown if Christian Watson didn’t drop a gimme from Aaron Rodgers).
Jalen Hurts
- Passing touchdowns: 1.5 (Over -117, Under -117)
- Passing yards: 236.5 (Over -109, Under -125)
- Rushing yards: 50.5 (Over -125, Under -109)
- Pass attempts: 31.5 (Over -104, Under -131)
- Rushing attempts: 8.5 (Over -148, Under +108)
- Longest pass completion: 36.5 (Over -121, Under -113)
- Completions: 19.5 (Over -133, Under -103)
- Interceptions: 0.5 (Over -121, Under -113)
As fascinating as the injection of Brown is to this Eagles offense, its bread-and-butter is through the running game and Hurts making plays with his legs. He saw 17 (!) rushing attempts in the opener and went for 90 yards and a touchdown. Even as the Vikings held the Packers to just seven points, Green Bay had success on the ground, averaging 6.2 yards per carry. Hurts also went over this rushing yards prop in eight of his 15 games played last season. Hurts at +126 to score a touchdown isn’t a bad play, but may not have enough value to bank on.
In terms of passing props, a dart throw on the Over 36.5 longest reception could be worth a look. He completed a 54-yard pass to Brown in Week 1 and Minnesota can be beaten deep as Rodgers completed pass of 20 yards or more to four different receivers vs. Vikings.
Kirk Cousins
- Passing touchdowns: 1.5 (Over -184, Under +133)
- Passing yards: 278.5 (Over -117, Under -117)
- Rushing yards: 4.5 (Over +100, Under -137)
- Pass attempts: 36.5 (Over -125, Under -109)
- Longest pass completion: 38.5 (Over -117, Under -117)
- Completions: 24.5 (Over -101, Under -135)
- Interceptions: 0.5 (Over -111, Under -123)
I think this game should be much more competitive than Minnesota’s opener where Cousins dropped back to pass 32 times in a double-digit win. With O’Connell now pulling the strings, you can expect the Vikings to be pass-happy, which trends to Over to hit on Cousins’ 36.5 pass attempts.
Player props to consider
Adam Thielen total receptions: Over 4.5 (-101). Thielen’s target share wasn’t particularly massive in Week 1, but he was efficient, catching three of his four targets for a 12-yards-per-reception average. I think the volume ticks up in this game with both offenses expected to score a lot of points. Philadelphia also allowed three Lions receivers to catch at least four passes in the opener, which gets us in the ballpark.
Dallas Goedert longest reception: Over 19.5 (-113). Goedert was tied for the second-most targets in the Eagles’ passing game in Week 1 and averaged 20 yards per reception, highlighted by a 27-yard catch in the win. He’s facing a Vikings defense that did give up plenty of chunk plays to the Packers’ passing attack last week and should continue to see plenty of volume from Hurts.
