Vikings vs. Cowboys Point Spread: NFL Week 15 SNF Odds, Prediction
Two teams with faint NFC playoff hopes meet in the Sunday night game in Week 15 as the Minnesota Vikings visit the Dallas Cowboys, who are 6-point favourites on the NFL odds with a total of 48.5.
NFL Point Spread and Betting Analysis
Minnesota might have made a huge mistake at quarterback over the past couple of years. First off, it traded up to No. 10 overall in the 2024 NFL Draft to select J.J. McCarthy out of Michigan. No one gave the Vikings any grief off that, but of the six signal-callers taken in Round 1 that year, he looks like the worst by far in the NFL so far.
McCarthy missed his 2024 rookie season (after a bit of playing time in the pre-season), and the Vikings ended up winning 14 games and reaching the playoffs with Sam Darnold having a career-saving season. Instead of re-signing Darnold as some potential insurance, Minnesota entered 2025 essentially with all its eggs in McCarthy’s basket, and it has largely backfired despite having a terrific offensive-minded head coach in Kevin O’Connell. Now there’s a legitimate question about O’Connell’s future, and the team seems likely to either sign or trade for a veteran QB in the off-season to push McCarthy in 2026.
Dallas had turned its season around since the trade deadline with a few defensive additions to give some post-season hope, but those chances got much longer with a loss in Detroit in Week 14. Now the team is +850 for extra football.
Including seven playoff meetings, the Cowboys lead this all-time series 19-15. They have won three straight, but the clubs haven’t met since 2022 and not at Dallas since 2019. The Vikings are 4-1 ATS in their past five there.
Minnesota Vikings
The Vikings played by far their best game of the season on Sunday, a 31-0 home blowout over Washington, and J.J. McCarthy played best game as a pro with three touchdown passes but most importantly no interceptions. It was McCarthy’s first game without one, and he had a career-high 129.2 rating. That snapped Minnesota’s four-game losing streak and made it the NFL’s first team since 1992 with a shutout win the game after a shutout loss. It was the franchise’s largest shutout win since 1980.
But I wouldn’t too excited, Vikings fans, as the Commanders are an utter mess right now having lost eight in a row and shredded by injury. And despite McCarthy’s strong game, superstar wideout Justin Jefferson was not that involved again with just two catches for 11 yards. McCarthy only had 163 yards passing because the team rushed 34 times for 162 yards and was able to dominate time of possession. The under is 5-0 in the Vikings’ past five games.
Dallas Cowboys
A new-look Dallas defence had a been a big part of the team’s season-saving three-game winning streak entering the Thursday night game in Week 14, but that unit didn’t show up much in a 44-30 loss in Detroit. That means the Lions hold a potentially crucial head-to-head tiebreaker over the Cowboys for an NFC Wild-Card spot. The Dallas offence has been pretty great all year and had 417 yards, but the team turned it over three times while forcing none. Rare to win the NFL when your turnover margin is a game is minus-1, much less minus-3. Detroit turned those three giveaways into 14 points.
The Cowboys do have the NFL’s best kicker in Brandon Aubrey, who probably makes a 70-yarder in a game at some point. Aubrey made five field goals against Detroit and became the first kicker in league history with three makes from at least 55 yards in a game as he connected from 55, 57 and 63 yards. Aubrey has three makes from at least 60 this year. The rest of the NFL has six. He now has six career field goals of 60 yards or longer, extending his NFL record. Thursday’s game was the fourth in an 18-day span for the Cowboys, so they definitely needed the mini-bye ahead of this one. Star WR CeeDee Lamb suffered a concussion vs. the Lions, so it will be a race to get cleared. Dallas is 4-1 ATS in its past five at home.
NFL Prediction: Who Will Win Vikings vs. Cowboys?
h
MIN
DAL