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Vikings vs. Lions NFL Player Props, Odds: Picks & Predictions

C Jackson Cowart

Last Updated: January 7, 2024 12:48 PM EST • 2 min 55 sec read.

It's an NFC North clash between the Minnesota Vikings and Detroit Lions in the final week of the 2023 NFL regular season, and our Vikings vs. Lions NFL player props for Week 18, based on the best NFL odds at the best sportsbooks, are taking a shot on some unsung heroes in this divisional finale.

The Minnesota Vikings (7-9) still have an outside shot of making the playoffs, but, unfortunately, the Detroit Lions (11-5) will at least begin Sunday's game with their typical starters despite needing somewhat of a miracle to earn the second seed in the NFC.

Detroit already clinched the NFC North and would require some real chaos in the NFC East to earn the No. 2 seed. However, despite it being a long shot, head coach Dan Campbell said he intends to trot out his regular squad in a classic test of NFL Week 18 motivation.

On the other side, Minnesota will give everything it has to preserve its slim NFL playoff odds, and we suspect Kevin O'Connell will try to air it out in a must-win spot.

In addition to our NFL Week 18 predictions and NFL Week 18 player props, here are our best Vikings vs. Lions NFL player props for Week 18 (odds via our best NFL betting sites; pick confidence based on a 1-to-5-star scale).

Vikings vs. Lions NFL player props: Week 18

Nick Mullens Over 1.5 passing TDs (+100 via DraftKings) ⭐⭐⭐

The player props market isn't particularly robust in this Week 18 affair, and only two of our five best sports betting apps are dealing this passing touchdown prop on Mullens. None have a better price than DraftKings, which is hanging what feels like an overly generous price on an already low bar to clear for the Vikings QB.

I'm hardly a fan of Mullens, who grades out as one of the NFL's worst passers by virtually any metric. Even so, the sixth-year veteran has thrown two TDs in each of his two starts this season, and he came off the bench last week to add another in just 29 snaps against the Packers.

Now he'll (presumably) get a full start against a woeful Detroit secondary decimated by injuries and a lack of quality personnel. The Lions have allowed 27 passing touchdowns in 2023, sixth-most in the NFL, and they've surrendered multiple passing scores in two straight weeks and eight of 16 games overall. I like our chances of that happening again Sunday at coin-flip odds.

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Craig Reynolds to score a touchdown (+1200 via bet365) ⭐⭐⭐

Publicly, the Lions are saying all the right things in terms of playing their starters on Sunday in a game that could technically impact Detroit's playoff seeding. Realistically, I'm not so sure Campbell will risk his best players for 60 minutes given all that would have to go right to secure the NFC's No. 2 seed.

If top rushers David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs - who have both missed multiple games this year due to injury - get an early hook on Sunday, Reynolds would be the next man up. The fifth-year rusher (41 carries, 179 yards) is the only other Lions running back with more than three carries, and he even reached paydirt in a blowout win over the Carolina Panthers in Week 5.

Really, the big appeal here is the price. Reynolds is trading around +700 to +900 to score across our best sports betting sites, which still feels like a value bet that doesn't fully account for what is in the best interest of the Lions on Sunday.

The reason this earns three stars, though, is the +1200 odds at bet365, which should help make a mostly unwatchable game slightly more appealing.

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Vikings-Lions player props made Friday at 2:25 p.m. ET.

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Written By:
C Jackson Cowart
C Jackson Cowart is a publishing editor and lead writer for Sportsbook Review. An award-winning writer, reporter, and editor with a decade of sports media experience, "C-Jax" has worked with ESPN, Forbes, theScore, and various daily newspapers before joining the Sportsbook Review team. He's a proud graduate of the University of North Carolina, where he served as a beat writer for the Tar Heels' championship run through the NCAA men's basketball tournament in 2017. Jackson has spent the last five years covering sports betting as a predictive analyst, features writer, and industry reporter. Since joining the team in 2023, he's played a key role in Sportsbook Review's coverage of the Super Bowl, March Madness, and NBA playoffs while serving as the lead writer for the growing WNBA and NASCAR betting scenes. Though he's cashed some big bets over the years -- including Lamar Jackson to win MVP (twice) -- he's still haunted by enough second-place bet slips to wallpaper his home office. While Jackson is a committed "process over results" bettor with a keen eye for advanced stats and subtle bias in futures markets, he also embraces sports betting as a vehicle for entertainment and personal investment. He's written about everything from hot dogs to groundhogs and still hasn't forgiven his "inside source" for a sabotaged bet on the Gatorade color in Super Bowl LV.