Minnesota Vikings
vs.
Pittsburgh Steelers
NFL Pick
9/17/17
By Jason Green
The Vkings had a very impressive season opener beating the New Orleans Saints where Sam Bradford led an offense that got it done and the defense kept Drew Brees out of the end zone until midway through the 4th quarter. They faced a less than stellar defense of the Saints and have a stiffer test in this Game on the road against the Steelers.
The Steelers are -5.5 point favs at betonline and 5 dimes with a total of 45.5
While the Steelers also won their season opener they were not impressive only beating the Browns by three points. The passing Game was pretty good with Ben Roethlisbergerand the D came up with seven sacks, but the run Game was not there even with star Le’Veon Bell in the backfield. Pittsburgh will be a home in this Game where they went 7-2 last season.
These teams met last in 2013 in Minnesota where the Vikings beat the Steelers 34-27.
The Vikings beat the Saints 29-19 in their season opener where they racked up the most yards (470) they had in three seasons. Sam Bradford looked great going 27for 32 with 346 yards with 3 TD and 0 INT and WR’s Adam Thielen had 157 yards and Stefon Diggs had 93 yards and 2 TD. The line played well in the Game only giving up one sack, but have their work cut out facing a legit Pittsburgh pass rush that got two sacks and an INT from rookie T.J Watt. Dalvin Cook had a great debut in his first NFL Game rushing for 127 yards on 22 carries.
The Vikings won their season opener at home, but they have lost five of their last six road Games.
Pittsburgh needed a solid Game from their defense since their offense was not great. Bell was stuffed to the tune of 32 yards and Big Ben was pretty good with 263 yards with 2 TD and 1 INT with 182 of those yards going to star WR Antonio Brown. Bell missed training camp and the preseason and the Steelers need him to get back on track and be the stud he was last season. He will be facing a Minnesota run D that held the Saints to only 60 yards in their opening win.
Key Betting Trends
The Vikings are 1-5 ATS in their last 6 road Games, 6-0 ATS in their last 6 Games in September, and in their last 5 Games they have an Over record of 4-1.
The Steelers are 7-3-1 ATS in their last 11 Games overall, 1-3-1 ATS in their last 5 Games following a ATS loss, and in their last 24 Games the Under record is 17-7.
Jason’s Pick: Minnesota was solid in their season opener and they have covered the spread in their last six Games in September. However, they have not only lost five of their last six road Games they have also failed to cover in five of their last six road Games. That trend will continue in this Game, as Big Ben will have a solid Game, Bell will bounce back, and the Steelers’ defense will harass Bradford and company all Game. Take Pittsburgh at home in this non-Conference match up to win and cover the spread.