The Minnesota Vikings lost Kirk Cousins for the year with a torn Achilles in their win in Green Bay on Sunday. To compensate, they made a trade deadline deal for recently benched Arizona Cardinals QB Josh Dobbs. Dobbs wasn’t brilliant by any stretch, but with minimal talent around him, he had over 1,500 passing yards, 11 total touchdowns, and just 5 interceptions. He also has a QBR of 86. Now, he’s joining a team that has Jordan Addison, TJ Hockenson, and eventually, Justin Jefferson. There’s a lot more talent here than what Arizona had.
The Vikings are currently the 7th seed in the NFC. They also have winnable games on their schedule. They play the Falcons, the Raiders, and have home games left against the Bears and Packers. In the NFC, 8 wins may be enough to get into the playoffs. You also have to consider who the Vikings would be competing against for a playoff spot. The Saints are also 4-4. The Vikings do play the Saints at home, but already lost to the Buccaneers, so they lose that all important head-to-head tiebreaker. The Bucs sit at 3-4 currently. However, if the Saints overcome the rest of the NFC South to win the division, it may come down to the Bucs and Vikings for that last spot. The Falcons have too many issues at QB and not enough talent elsewhere to overcome it, and the Rams have a QB who just hurt the thumb on his throwing hand. The Vikings have the experience needed to win close games, and they have a better coach than the Buccaneers.
Betting on the Vikings to overcome big injuries isn’t always ideal, but the fact is they’re 4-4 and have better talent than the other teams fighting for the last wildcard spot. There is value on the Vikings to make the playoffs. Odds can always change of course, but as of right now, they’re +225 to make the playoffs. When taking everything into consideration, there is definitely value on the Vikings here.