Minnesota Vikings vs. Washington Commanders best bets for Week 9

What are the best bets for the Week 9 matchup inside FedEx Field between the Minnesota Vikings and the Washington Commanders?

Before landing with the Washington Commanders in the middle of the 2020 season, the Minnesota Vikings were the first team to give quarterback Taylor Heinicke a shot in the NFL back in 2015.

Since then, Heinicke has bounced around the league, as he’s had stints with the New England Patriots, Houston Texans, Carolina Panthers, and Washington.

On Sunday, the former Vikings quarterback will get to face his old team for the first time in his career. Heinicke has a tough task in front of him, however, as Minnesota only has one loss in their seven games this season.

Best bets for Minnesota Vikings vs. Washington Commanders in Week 9

Best Bet No. 1:

• Kirk Cousins OVER 21.5 pass completions (-145)

Several passing stats are lower this season for Kirk Cousins than they typically have been in the past, but his accuracy is one thing that hasn’t really changed much this year. Cousins is completing 66.3 percent of his passes heading into Week 9, the exact same completion percentage he finished with in 2021.

In six of Minnesota’s seven games this season, the Vikings quarterback has ended a matchup with more than 21.5 completions, so we should expect this to continue on Sunday against a Commanders defense that currently ranks 28th in the NFL in pass defense DVOA according to Football Outsiders.

Best Bet No. 2:

• Dalvin Cook OVER 16.5 carries (-115)

Even though Minnesota’s offense isn’t really centered around Dalvin Cook anymore, the running back has still been extremely consistent this season.

In his last five games, Cook has averaged 90.8 rushing yards and 17.6 rushing attempts. Despite Washington being one of the better rush defenses in the league this year, we should still expect the Vikings to continue to feed their No. 1 running back his normal amount of carries.

Best Bet No. 3:

• Vikings OVER 23.5 team total points (+100)

In their last four games, the Commanders haven’t allowed their opponent to score more than 21 points in a matchup. However, all four of these opponents (Tennessee Titans, Chicago Bears, Green Bay Packers, Indianapolis Colts) are all averaging less than 20 points per game this season.

On Sunday, Washington will be taking on a Minnesota team that is averaging 28.6 points in their last five contests. Unless something drastic happens, we should expect the Vikings to finish with more than 23.5 total points against the Commanders.

(All odds via DraftKings Sportsbook)

(Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.)