49ers vs Vikings 2018 NFL Week 1 Spread & Analysis

49ers vs Vikings 2018 NFL Week 1 Spread & Analysis

Written by on August 23, 2018

The San Francisco 49ers enter the 2018 regular season as one of the sexy picks to make a big improvement, mostly because of the eye-opening play of new franchise quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo late last season. The Minnesota Vikings are looking to take one more step toward reaching Super Bowl 53 after coming up just one game short last season and they have their own renewed hopes after signing their own new franchise quarterback in veteran Kirk Cousins. Now, with both teams set to square off in an intriguing NFL Week 1 regular season opener, let’s find out if the Niners can pull off the huge upset in the NFL spread for this matchup.

49ers vs Vikings 2018 NFL Week 1 Spread & Analysis

When: Sunday, September 9, 2018 at 1:00 PM ET Where: U.S. Bank Stadium, Minneapolis, Minnesota TV: FOX Radio: San Francisco / Minnesota Live Steam: NFL Live NFL Odds: Minnesota -8 / Total: 46

Why Bet on The San Francisco 49ers?

Why should you consider betting on the Niners in this regular season opener? Well, there’s the fact that San Francisco has never lost a game that Jimmy Garoppolo has started. Combine that with the fact that Frisco has one of the best offensive minds in the league in head coach Kyle Shanahan and it’s plausible that the Niners could put their fair share of points on the board with Jimmy G under center. The 49ers averaged a healthy 28.8 points per game in winning their final five regular season games last season while hanging 44 points on a Jacksonville Jaguars defense that finished second in point allowed a year ago.

Team Statistics

Offense:
  • Average Score For: 20.69
  • Total Yards: 349.31
  • Pass Yards: 245.31
  • Rush Yards: 104
Defense:
  • Average Score Against: 23.94
  • Total Yards: 351.56
  • Pass Yards: 235.25
  • Rush Yards: 116.31

Why Bet on The Minnesota Vikings?

Why should you consider betting on the Vikings in their home and regular season opener? Well, because Minnesota has the best defense in all of football and will almost certainly be better offensively in 2018 than they were a year ago because of the addition of Kirk Cousins.  Minnesota almost pulled off the rare feat of ranking first across the board defensively in 2017 and they’re going to be very good again on that side of the ball under no-nonsense head coach Mike Zimmer. However, it is on the offensive side of the ball where I believe we could see the Vikings grow exponentially in 2018. Not only does Minnesota now have a better quarterback than the one they had last season, but they also have explosive running back Dalvin Cook back on the field after his rookie season was cut short because of a torn ACL last season.

Team Statistics

Offense:
  • Average Score For: 23.22
  • Total Yards: 358.11
  • Pass Yards: 240.22
  • Rush Yards: 117.89
Defense:
  • Average Score Against: 17.44
  • Total Yards: 290.5
  • Pass Yards: 205.67
  • Rush Yards: 84.83

NFL Betting Trends for 49ers vs Vikings

  • Minnesota is 14-5 ATS in dome games over the last 3 seasons
  • Minnesota is 14-5 ATS in games played on turf over the last 3 seasons

49ers vs Vikings NFL Week 1 Analysis and Prediction

While I have no doubt that new-look San Francisco 49ers will be competitive this season, the fact of the matter is that Minnesota is one of the league’s top Super Bowl favorites and rightfully so. The Vikings are playing at home, they have the far better defense and I suspect they want to make a statement to everyone by being the first team to hand Jimmy Garoppolo a regular season loss in a game he started. While the 49ers are a robust 6-1 ATS in their last 7 games in Week 1 and impressive 4-1 ATS in their last 5 road games, the Vikings are a near-perfect 7-1 ATS in their last 8 games in the month of September and an insane 42-19 ATS in their last 61 games overall. Minnesota wins and covers the chalk with a statement-making performance. NFL Week 1 Pick: Minnesota 29 San Francisco 20