NFL Week 14 — Thursday Night Football
Thursday Night Football time! Picks, Plays and Evaluation from me below. Guest pickers at the bottom of the article. Enjoy!
8:15 PM ET
PITTSBURGH STEELERS at MINNESOTA VIKINGS (-3.5) ; O/U 44.5
Model Z Projection: MIN -5, 50.69 Total
Straight Up Pick: Minnesota Vikings
Spread Pick: MIN -3.5⭐
O/U Pick: Under 44.5⭐⭐
Zack’s Plays:
- Justin Jefferson 100+ Receiving Yards (+130)
- KJ Osborn 50+ Receiving Yards (+136)
- Kirk Cousins over 252.5 Passing Yards (-110)
- Harris under 68.5 Rushing Yards (-110)
- Dionte Johnson to lead the game in receiving yards (+220)
- Roethlisberger over 22.5 completions (-110)
- Ray-Ray McCloud over 13.5 Receiving yards (-110)
- MIN D/ST to score (+600)
Zack’s “Quick” Rundown: Fun fact: These are the only two teams that did not win against the Detroit Lions this season. The Vikings did so last week with an absolutely embarrassing finish, essentially playing prevent defense from the 11 yard line for the last play of the game. Smh. They get veteran corner Patrick Peterson back this week and will look to fix that in the secondary against Roethlisberger and the Steelers. They also get back star linebacker Eric Kendricks which with their healthy & superior interior d-line, should help clog up the running lanes against Najee Harris. The Vikings are the kings of being in these one score games (not necessarily winning them), so I’m very tempted to take the steeler with the 3.5 hook when it comes to the spread, but I can’t do it. I like this Minny defense for the most part, and can’t back Big Ben if I believe Harris will be slowed down. Pittsburgh also is without CB1 Haden yet again. It’d be a lock if Thielen was playing, but I think WR2 Osborn can step in to fill the role enough.
Position Faceoff: Minnesota Vikings 9–4
QB: PIT 25TH / MIN 9TH
RB: PIT 20TH / MIN 5TH
WR: PIT 20TH / MIN 12TH
TE: PIT 11TH / MIN 25TH
OL: PIT 31ST / MIN 27TH
IDL: PIT 5TH / MIN 4TH
EDGE: PIT 13TH / MIN 32ND
LB:PIT 14TH / MIN 2ND
CB: PIT 21ST / MIN 28TH
S: PIT 28TH / MIN 3RD
OVERALL: PIT 25TH / MIN 15TH
OFFENSE: PIT 27TH / MIN 12TH
DEFENSE: PIT 23RD / MIN 24TH
🎁SPECIAL GUEST PICKERS🎁
Garrett Herr (Steelers Fan): Jefferson to score (-105), Claypool to score (+190), PIT ML (+155)
Ryan Mead: PIT ML (+152), MIN to win 1st half and PIT to win 2nd Half (+850), Freiermuth to score (+220), Exact Score of 17–13 PIT(+15000)
Rob McGillick: Roethlisberger & Cousins to both throw INT’s (+318), Roethlisberger under 258.5 Passing Yards (-110), Largest lead under 13.5 (-110)
Killian Vallieu: PIT +3.5 (-110), Freiermuth to score (+220), Cousins to throw INT, Dionte Johnson over 6.5 Receptions, Jefferson over 92.5 Receiving yards