The Pittsburgh Steelers (6-5-1) hit the road fresh off their Week 14 victory over the Baltimore Ravens to take on the Minnesota Vikings (5-7) at U.S. Bank Stadium for Thursday Night Football. Kickoff will be at 8:20 p.m. ET as both of these teams try to keep their playoff hopes alive. Below, we look at the Steelers vs. Vikings prop bet odds and lines, and make our best NFL picks, predictions and bets.
The Steelers secured a much-needed win last week by beating the Ravens 20-19. It came down to a failed two-point conversion by Baltimore helped the Steelers snap their two-game losing skid and get them back on track after a terrible finish to November. They rank 21st in scoring and 22nd in total yards.
The Vikings were stunned by the Detroit Lions in Week 13 as they lost with QB Jared Goff throwing a game-winning touchdown pass as time expired. It was Minnesota’s second loss in a row and its fourth in the last six weeks, dropping to 5-7 after starting the season 3-3. The defense has been a major problem as it’s allowed the third-most yards in the NFL.
Steelers at Vikings prop bet picks and predictions
Odds provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated Thursday at 3:45 p.m. ET.
Steelers WR Dionte Johnson OVER 80.5 receiving yards (-130)
Johnson has been on a tear as of late, going for at least 83 yards in each of his last four games and in five of his last six. He hasn’t been targeted fewer than 11 times since Week 9 and against a Vikings defense that has been terrible against the pass and has allowed the sixth-most yards after the catch this season.
Johnson could be in for a big game — he’s undoubtedly QB Ben Roethlisberger‘s favorite target right now with WR JuJu Smith-Schuster out.
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Steelers TE Pat Freiermuth anytime TD scorer (+220)
Freiermuth has scored six touchdowns as a rookie, becoming a valuable red zone weapon for Roethlisberger. He’s scored in each of his last three road games and has found the end zone twice in his last three games overall.
Safety Harrison Smith is a tough draw for Freiermuth, but Big Ben looks his way pretty often in the red zone and his size could cause problems for Minnesota.
Vikings WR Justin Jefferson OVER 93.5 receiving yards (-114)
WR Adam Thielen won’t play in this one due to a high ankle sprain suffered in Week 13 against the Lions. That leaves Jefferson as QB Kirk Cousins‘ go-to receiver, which was certainly the case on Sunday in Detroit.
Jefferson was targeted 14 times and caught 11 passes for 182 yards, most of which came after Thielen left the game. He’s had at least 100 yards receiving in three of his last four games.
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Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger OVER 22.5 pass completions (-120)
The Vikings allow a completion rate of 62.3% to opposing quarterbacks, not a particularly high number but it’s only slightly below Roethlisberger’s season average of 64.8%. He’s thrown at least 30 passes in each of his last six games and completed at least 21 in all of them, too.
This could be a game where the Steelers throw a bunch of quick, short passes (as they often do) to negate the Vikings’ pass rush. That should lead to a high number of completions for Roethlisberger, especially if the game script calls for a pass-heavy attack should the Vikings grab an early lead.
Vikings TE Tyler Conklin OVER 39.5 receiving yards (-114)
Conklin should see significantly more targets and opportunities tonight with Thielen being out. He was targeted a season-high nine times last week and caught seven passes for 56 yards. He’s topped 40 yards in five other games, too.
The Steelers don’t allow a ton of production to opposing tight ends (48.6 yards per game) but Conklin should see an uptick in catches and yards in Thielen’s absence.
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