Sean Barnard dives into the top player prop bets in the Minnesota Vikings at Dallas Cowboys matchup on NFL Week 15 Sunday Night Football.

It is an important week of NFL Football with the full playoff picture taking shape. After nonstop action all day, the Minnesota Vikings and Dallas Cowboys will square off in the Week 15 edition of Sunday Night Football.

Neither of these teams holds the exact outlook they desire at this stage of the season. The Dallas Cowboys are 6-6-1, but the recent struggles of the Philadelphia Eagles and improved play from Dallas has kept the window to win the division open.

The Minnesota Vikings are just 5-8 on the season, and the clear priority moving forward is to get J.J. McCarthy on the proper developmental path. After spending the 10th overall pick in the 2024 draft on the Michigan product, Minnesota has not solidified its belief that he can be the organization’s franchise quarterback to this point. A matchup against a vulnerable Dallas defense could help change this. 

Looking at the odds of this matchup, the Cowboys enter as 5.5-point favorites and hold -278 odds on the moneyline on DraftKings Sportsbook. The Vikings hold +225 odds of winning outright, and the game total is set at O/U 47.5 points.

There are plenty of ways to get involved in the action beyond just backing a side. This article will look at my three favorite prop bets on DraftKings Sportsbook for the Week 15 Sunday Night Football matchup.

Vikings at Cowboys Best Prop Bets

Jordan Mason Over 38.5 Rushing Yards (-108)

Aaron Jones was a limited participant in practice at the start of the week, but he is expected to give it a go tonight against the Cowboys. Nonetheless, it has become increasingly clear that Jordan Mason has played himself into a role in the Minnesota attack, and this will remain the case tonight. Mason has played four additional games, but he leads the Vikings with 133 carries for 630 yards and six scores. Mason is averaging 10.2 rush attempts per game for 48.5 rushing yards, compared to Jones averaging 9.0 rush attempts for 41.8 yards.

Both running backs should be excited for this matchup as they face a Cowboys defense that has struggled all season. Dallas ranks 31st in points allowed and 29th in yards conceded overall. It is giving up 4.7 rushing yards per carry, which is the sixth-worst rate in the NFL. The Cowboys also rank 20th in total rushing yards allowed and have given up nine rushes of over 20 yards this season, which ranks 23rd.

Mason has rushed for 42 or more yards in each of the past four games. He has rushed for over 37.5 yards in nine of the 13 games overall and has tallied as many as 116 rushing yards in a game this season. Jones will still see his opportunities as well, but Mason will be involved throughout and see enough volume of opportunities to put forth a productive day. This 38.5-yard rushing prop line is too low for my liking, so back the Vikings’ standout to eclipse this for the fifth consecutive week and 10th time this season.

Javonte Williams Anytime Touchdown (-140)

One of the more positive surprises on the Cowboys this season has been the level of play from Javonte Williams. After spending his first four seasons with the Denver Broncos, Williams left for Dallas this past offseason and has put forth a career-best year. The North Carolina product has carried the ball 215 times for a career-best 1,022 yards and nine rushing touchdowns this season, while adding 128 receiving yards through the air and a pair of receiving scores.

Given the shortcomings of the Cowboys’ defense, the team is dependent on scoring at a high level throughout each matchup. Williams has been the biggest red-zone threat with his 11 total touchdowns, leading the team. His 42 rushing attempts inside the red zone is tied for sixth in the NFL. Dak Prescott is next on the team with 11 red-zone rush attempts, while Miles Sanders has seen six carries in range of a score.

This is especially appealing considering Minnesota has been vulnerable to stopping the run this year. The Vikings rank 12th in points allowed and eighth in yards given up overall, but 22nd in rushing yards allowed and 14th in rushing touchdowns conceded. They managed to hold Washington scoreless last week, but they had allowed a rushing touchdown in six straight games leading up to this. Williams has reached the end zone in eight of the 13 games this season, with multiple touchdowns in three games. He has scored in back-to-back games leading into this matchup, so look for him to find pay dirt again with the bright lights of primetime on him.

Justin Jefferson to Record 80+ Receiving Yards (+162)

It has been an ugly season for Justin Jefferson, with inconsistent quarterback play as the driving force. To this point in his career, he has been labeled as “quarterback-proof” and has been able to put up numbers regardless of who is throwing him the football. But so far this year, he has tallied 64 receptions for just 810 receiving yards and two scores. The 2022 Offensive Player of the Year is coming off just 15 receiving yards across the past two games combined and has been held to under 50 receiving yards in five of his past six games.

However, there were some really encouraging strides taken by J.J. McCarthy last week in the blowout victory over the Commanders. It was the cleanest performance of McCarthy’s young career, with him completing 16 of his 23 pass attempts for 163 yards, three touchdowns and zero turnovers. He will be looking to build off this momentum against a Cowboys defense that has been among the worst in the league all season. Dallas enters this game ranked 31st in points allowed, 29th in yards given up, 30th in net yards per pass attempt, 31st in passing touchdowns allowed and dead last in passing yards conceded.

There is no match for Jefferson in this Cowboys secondary, and look for the Vikings to get back to their roots and make it a priority to get him the football. The four-time Pro Bowler’s standard receiving prop is set at 63.5 receiving yards on DraftKings Sportsbook. While I am in favor of this number as well, I am pushing it a bit further to take the +162 swing for him to record 80+ yards. This used to be the floor of production for the star wideout, and he has still reached this in three games this season despite the struggles. With McCarthy coming off his best performance and the Cowboys’ defense bleeding yards to far less talented pass catchers, back Jefferson to get back on track tonight.