The Dallas Cowboys are somehow still alive in the playoff race, but that might not be the case if they fall to the lowly Minnesota Vikings at home tonight.
With the Cowboys playing for their season and Minnesota looking to inspire confidence in its young quarterback, there should be some scoring in this game, particularly given that both defenses have struggled.
Keep reading for my Vikings vs. Cowboys anytime touchdown picks below. For more NFL picks, make sure to check out our full Vikings vs. Cowboys predictions!
Vikings anytime touchdown pick
J.J. McCarthy (+440 at FanDuel)
It hasn’t mattered who is at quarterback; Kevin O’Connell has leaned heavily upon the passing game to move the ball downfield. The Minnesota Vikings are throwing at the sixth-highest clip in the NFL, but have managed just 1.2 passing TDs per game this season to rank 27th in the NFL.
That’s because when the ball gets down inside the red zone, Minnesota has been better off running the ball. It has attempted 60 passes, but none of its three quarterbacks has had much success completing passes or avoiding sacks.
With the Dallas Cowboys' run defense standing as one of the worst in football and Minnesota producing far more on the ground with 4.6 yards per carry, I want to attack this front seven — but not in a traditional way.
No, I’m going with J.J. McCarthy to score. Dallas has allowed six rushing touchdowns to opposing quarterbacks — the most in the NFL — and on top of that, McCarthy has rushed for two touchdowns inside the 20 on just three carries.
He has a fair chance of having a nice game here, given the Cowboys’ defense rarely creates turnovers and allows the third-most yards per throw in the league, and with that confidence, you’d expect him to take matters into his own hands in close.
Cowboys anytime touchdown pick
Javonte Williams (-130 at FanDuel)
Only four teams have allowed fewer passing touchdowns per game than the Vikings, who have averaged just 1.1 against them this year, and over the last three weeks, there have been exactly zero scored on them.
Dallas, along the same lines, is averaging exactly one rushing touchdown per game, which ranks 13th in the NFL, though it ranks second in passing touchdowns per game.
We’re up against a Minnesota defense that ranks third in red zone scoring, so we can’t exactly afford to take too many shots here. With tight end Jake Ferguson potentially out as well, there will be one fewer red zone option for Dallas, and with that, I think we have to stick to the ground.
Javonte Williams ranks fifth among all running backs with 45 red zone touches this year, and he’s scored eight touchdowns with a good three yards per carry average relative to his volume and the split.
He just scored his first touchdown last week in five games, and now I expect him to get back to business here. Helping matters further is that two nose tackles, Christian Darrisaw and Javon Hargrave, are dealing with injuries and could miss.
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