The 2022 NFL regular season was one of soaring highs and mystifying lows for the Minnesota Vikings.
The Kevin O’Connell-coached club finished the year with a 13-4 record, winning the franchise’s first NFC North crown since 2017 along the way, despite posting a -3 point differential.
Thanks in large part to an eye-popping 11 single-digit victories, the Vikings were able to win their division by four games over the Detroit Lions, before ultimately falling flat in the NFL Wild Card Round against the New York Giants, 31-21.
Now, O’Connell and company are tasked with reaching the same heights they hit in 2022, minus the services of four-time Pro Bowl running back Dalvin Cook, who is still on the free agency market but is apparently out of the picture to return to Minnesota.
Cook played a key role in the Vikings’ 13-win season last year, averaging 69 yards per game to finish with 1,173 yards and eight touchdowns.
Now, the Vikings will likely turn to backup Alexander Mattison, who had 283 yards on the ground on 74 attempts last year, to shoulder the load out of the backfield in Cook’s place.
It seems that oddsmakers at BetMGM Sportsbook aren’t too worried about the negative impact losing Cook will have on the Vikings, as they’ve given the club a preseason win total over/under of 8.5, with +125 odds of the team making the playoffs in 2023. Keep up with the latest Vikings playoff chances right here!
MinnesotaBets.com wanted to see how oddsmakers see the Vikings’ season progressing, utilizing that over/under and other metrics to suss out where the team may finish in the season ahead.
Minnesota Vikings 2023-24 Season Futures
MinnesotaBets.com is tracking the Vikings odds this offseason. Below you'll find the odds from BetMGM Sportsbook. Bookmark our Vikings Super Bowl Odds page to get the most updated odds and latest developments.
Expect the best Minnesota sportsbook apps to have all the Vikings odds once sports betting is legal in the state.
Will Vikings Continue Torrid Pace During 2023 Season?
It seems that as long as wideout Justin Jefferson is in the lineup, the Vikings will have a puncher’s chance of pulling off victories.
Jefferson is coming off a franchise record of 1,809 receiving yards, with the former LSU Tiger hauling in eight touchdown catches and 128 receptions for the team in total.
Veteran wideout Adam Thielen was the next closest Viking to Jefferson, production-wise, with 70 catches for 716 yards and six touchdowns, while wideout K.J. Osborn (650 yards and five touchdowns on 60 catches) and tight end T.J. Hockenson (519 yards and three touchdowns on 60 receptions) were the other Vikings to eclipse 500 receiving yards.
Veteran signal caller Kirk Cousins returns to the team after throwing for the second-most yards of his 142-game career, with the 11th-year pro finishing the year with 4,547 yards.
If Cousins can continue feeding the ball to his stacked cast of receivers, led by Jefferson, then the Vikings will stand a solid chance at hitting 10 or more wins in 2023.
With home games against Tampa Bay, the L.A. Chargers, Kansas City, San Francisco, New Orleans, Chicago, Detroit and Green Bay on the schedule — there’s no shortage of high-quality foes to look forward to for Vikings fans in 2023.
The question is whether the franchise can improve their point differential in the season ahead, as there’s little chance they can post another double-digit victory campaign with a negative differential.
It appears oddsmakers are on the fence about the Vikings odds to do just that in the season ahead, though it wouldn’t be the first time the Vikings thrived in the face of naysayers, with last year being an example of such a success story.
Stick with MinnesotsBets.com for all the latest sports updates and Minnesota sports betting developments.
