The first official game of the NFL preseason has arrived for both the Minnesota Vikings and Seattle Seahawks, so get excited! Yes, it is the preseason and starter action will be limited, if seen at all, but it is football — professional football, to say the least. The good news for sports bettors is that most people betting this stuff have absolutely no idea what they are doing, filling some void or need for action with bad bets based on a busted process of which team is going to kill the other team. That stuff does not work in the regular season, so it is certainly not a good plan with backups. Between coaching record, against-the-spread runs and overall drop from starter to backup, there happens to be a fantastic play with tremendous value for tonight’s Vikings-Seahawks game.
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Best Vikings-Seahawks Parlay: Expect Defense to Reign Supreme
Two things seem to jump out the most when it comes to the hosts in the preseason. The first is they do not win or cover many games in the first two weeks; the second is those games tend to be comfortably under the number. While Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell has had just one preseason under his belt — an 0-3 against-the-spread run last year — Pete Carroll is way more defined as a preseason coach, where he has struggled to win and cover in the first two weeks. Carroll is riding a 1-3 against-the-spread stretch over his last four Game 1’s of the preseason and should be even more limited, with Drew Lock and others taking the majority of snaps. The dynamics of their offense centered around Geno Smith making plays, and that is just not going to be the case tonight against Minnesota. The same can be said with the Vikings, but there are some key position battles on offense — especially the running back position — that can open up better play from backups. The Vikings overall are riding a 6-2 against-the-spread streak in the first game of preseasons, so expect O’Connell’s team to look a little different in his second go-around.
The biggest trend that sticks out with the number is how low scoring these home games have been for Seattle. The total has played 1-7-1 to the under over Carroll’s last nine preseason home games. Even this number sitting at 35.5 to 36 — always check OddsShopper first — is a little too high, with not much offense expected from either side. The Vikings have the deeper defense and a coach that simply may not know any better than to come out and win this game outright. Expect Carroll to side with veterans and do whatever he can to get out of tonight’s game with minimal injuries. That is a sweet recipe for the Vikings and under to hit.
Best Vikings-Seahawks Parlay: Vikings +3.5 & Game Total Under 35.5 Points (+240, FanDuel)
