NFL Odds: How Dak Prescott Status Impacted ‘Sunday Night Football’ Lines
The Cowboys quarterback was deemed inactive for Sunday's game
To play or not to play was the question all week for Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott entering a Week 8 clash on "Sunday Night Football" against the Minnesota Vikings.
We now have our answer.
Prescott, after going through a full pregame warmup and causing anxiety among fantasy football owners who left him in their lineup, is inactive, as first reported by ESPN's Chris Mortensen at 6:44 p.m. ET.
Cooper Rush will start his first career game with Will Grier serving as the backup quarterback.
Prescott had been dealing with a calf injury dating back to the Cowboys' overtime win against the New England Patriots in Week 6. Dallas was on a bye week in Week 7.
Oddsmakers tried to cover themselves as best they could entering the contest. There were a very limited number of Cowboys-related propositional bets -- most revolving around Ezekiel Elliott -- while wideouts like CeeDee Lamb and Amari Cooper did not have receiving or receiving yards props listed on DraftKings Sportsbook. That, undoubtedly, was a Prescott effect.
In regards to the spread, the Cowboys were a +3 road underdog against the Vikings before Prescott's status was made official. The total was set at over/under 51 with the Cowboys +140 on the moneyline and home-favorite Vikings -160. Dallas was +2 for the first-half spread and +1 for the first-quarter spread, as well.
The primetime game was quickly taken off the board around 6:46 p.m. ET as oddsmakers figured out their next move, and they came back with Prescott swinging the line by one point in favor of the 3-3 Vikings.
Minnesota now is a four-point favorite with the total dropping slightly to 49. The Cowboys are +165 on the moneyline with the Vikings moving to -195. DraftKings Sportsbook added prop bets for both Lamb (over/under 63.5) and Cooper (over/under 57.5) while the Cowboys moved to +3 for the first-half spread.
