Before we jump into our Monday Night Football best bets, allow me to say this -- don’t let anyone fool you with regard to NFL Week 7. Whether they won their football bets or not, this past week was a grueling one. You had major upsets like the New England Patriots taking down the Buffalo Bills, the Pittsburgh Steelers beating the Los Angeles Rams and the Denver Broncos working their way past the Green Bay Packers. Even the Chicago Bears looked strong with back-up quarterback Tyson Bagent and back-up running back D’Onta Foreman both looking strong in their win over the Las Vegas Raiders. Can’t say that I didn’t warn you as I mentioned in my last article that I wasn’t playing heavy this week at all, and that continues even tonight as Christian McCaffrey and the San Francisco 49ers tangle with the Kirk Cousins and the Minnesota Vikings. We’ll check in with the latest NFL injury updates and then head to the betting window.

 

 

NFL Monday Night Football Best Bets: San Francisco 49ers vs Minnesota Vikings

The Spread: 49ers -7

We’re not revealing some big secret that the 49ers are the better team, especially with word that running back Christian McCaffrey is now being listed as probable with his oblique issue. The Vikings defense ranks 16th in DVOA against the run and allows 112.3 rushing yards per game with five rushing touchdowns on the season, so even if McCaffrey yields some work to Jordan Mason and/or Elijah Mitchell, I feel like they should be controlling the game most of the way. That will put the Vikings on their heels and that means relying on Kirk Cousins to keep Minnesota in this game. Cousins is 2-10 straight-up on Monday Night Football and he is 9-8 against the spread in prime-time games, but I’m not even sure that matter much here. The myth of the Monday night home dog is just that…a myth. I don’t even care how many upsets we saw this week. San Francisco has the edge and should be looking for vindication after their loss to Cleveland last week. The Vikings just happen to be the ones in the way here. Pick: 49ers -7 (-105)

The Total: 43.5

Considering the offensive strengths of both these teams, this game total might seem a little low, but the 49ers have one of the toughest defenses in the league and Cousins is a notorious choke artist on Monday Night Football. The 49ers will likely control the pace with a strong effort on the ground and the Vikings are going to have trouble running the football which could lead to a number of three-and-outs. That will only inspire Kyle Shanahan to work the clock while he watches his team move up and down the field in a methodical way. With a relatively low game total and me favoring the 49ers covering the spread, I’ll look at this as a potential 28-13 kind of game. Pick: Under 43.5 (-110) 

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**all lines & odds courtesy of BetMGM Sportsbook