Pittsburgh Steelers vs Minnesota Vikings Prediction, Preview and Odds - 12/09/2021

Game Time: 8:20 pm ET, Thursday, December 9, 2021

Venue:  U.S. Bank Stadium, Minneapolis, MN

Where to Watch:  Fox

DraftKings:  Point Spread:  Steelers +3, Vikings -3; Over/Under:  44.5 points

Bet365:  Point Spread:  Steelers +3, Vikings -3; Over/Under:  44.5 points

BetMGM:  Point Spread:  Steelers +3.5, Vikings -3.5; Over/Under:  45 points

 

Pittsburgh Steelers:  6-5-1 (3rd place, AFC North)

Minnesota Vikings:  5-7 (2nd place, NFC North)

 

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Pittsburgh Steelers:  win at home on Dec. 5 against the Baltimore Ravens 20-19.

Minnesota Vikings:  lost on the road on Dec. 5 against the Detroit Lions 29-27.

 

 

 

The Steelers are coming into this game with a 6-5-1 record overall and they are 2-3 in their road games this season where they will be in this game. They have lost 2 of their last 3 games but are coming into this one off of a win in their last game which snapped a 2 game losing streak that they were on. Their 2 losses were against the Los Angeles Chargers and the Cincinnati Bengals while their win came against the Baltimore Ravens in their last game. Ben Roethlisberger completed 21/31 passes for 236 yards and 2 touchdowns. Najee Harris led the team in rushing with 71 yards on 21 carries. Diontae Johnson had a nice day as he led the receivers with 105 yards and 2 touchdowns on 8 receptions. Minkah Fitzpatrick led the defense in that game with 7 solo tackles and 2 assisted ones. T.J. Watt led the defense in sacks in that game with 3.5 while Fitzpatrick came up with the only interception for them in that one. They have scored 224 points in their 12 games this season averaging 18.7 PPG and they have allowed their opponents to score 267 points against them allowing 22.3 PPG. Their offense is averaging 298.4 YPG while their defense is allowing 336.9 YPG.

 

 

The Min Vikings are coming into this game with a 5-7 record overall and they are 3-2 in their home games this NFL season where they will be in this game on their schedule as the host here. Their last win came against the Green Bay Packers but they have gone on a 2 game losing streak since then with losses coming against the San Francisco 49ers and the Detroit Lions in their last game on Sunday. Quarterback Kirk Cousins completed 30/40 passes for 340 yards and 2 touchdowns in that game but it was not enough for them to win the game. Alexander Mattison led the team in rushing with 90 yards and 1 touchdown on 22 carries as Dalvin Cook did not play in that game. Justin Jefferson had a very nice day as he led the receivers with 182 yards and 1 touchdown on 11 receptions while K.J. Osborn had 47 yards and 1 touchdown on 4 receptions. Adam Thielen was also missing from the lineup in that one. Nick Vigil led the defense in that game with 9 solo tackles and 6 assisted ones. Blake Lynch led the defense in sacks in that game with 2 while Cameron Dantzler came up with the only interception for them in that one. They have scored 281 points in their 12 games this season averaging 23.4 PPG and they have allowed their opponents to score 276 points against them allowing 23 PPG. Their offense is averaging 349.4 YPG while their defense is allowing 351 YPG.

 

 

The Steelers are coming into this matchup as a 3.5 point underdog with the current betting odds according to Draftkings Sportsbook. The Steelers have not been playing great this season but they have been playing better in their recent games and their defense has gotten a lot healthier with some key players returning to them. They have a very good defense that should be able to keep the Vikings in check and their defense normally keeps games lower scoring and gives them a chance in their games. The Vikings are not playing any better though, and they are coming off of a loss where they just gave the Lions their first win of the season. The Vikings like to play down to their competition and have played in 11 of their 12 games with the final score being within 1 touchdown. This will be a close game that both teams scrap out but the winner here will not be by more than a field goal as a lot of the games for both of these teams have gone that way. The best wager to place in this game is on the Steelers to cover the spread here.

 

Steelers Vikings Prediction:  Our NFL Pick for Thursday, December 9, 2021 (8:20 pm ET start time) is Vikings 21 Steelers 20.

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Pittsburgh Steelers: 91-59 ATS as an underdog. 70-45 ATS as a road underdog. 10-5 ATS in a road game where the total is between 42.5 and 49 points. 10-4 ATS off a home win.

Minnesota Vikings: 9-16 ATS as a favorite. 4-12 ATS as a home favorite. 8-13 ATS in home games. 11-17 ATS in dome games. 2-8 ATS in December games. 0-6 ATS after scoring 25 points or more in 3 straight games. 

 

 

Pittsburgh Steelers:  J. Smith-Schuster (WR) I-R - Shoulder injury. E. Ebron (TE) Out indefinitely - Knee injury. J. Haden (CB) day-to-day - Foot injury.

Minnesota Vikings:  A. Thielen (WR) day-to-day - Ankle injury. D. Cook (RB) Mid Dec - Shoulder injury. E. Kendricks (LB) day-to-day - Bicep injury. A. Barr (LB) day-to-day - Hamstring injury. P. Peterson (CB) Out indefinitely - Illness.

 

 

"Not a lot to be said. You get your butt kicked — it happens. These things happen." - Ben Roethlisberger after a bad loss to the Bengals a few weeks ago.

 

 

"We weren't covering very well, so we felt we needed to get more guys into coverage." - Head coach Mike Zimmer on the game winning drive in their loss against the Lions in their last game.

 

 

 

 

WR McCloud, Ray-Ray 

WR Chase Claypool

WR Johnson, Diontae 

TE Freiermuth, Pat

QB ROETHLISBERGER, BEN 

RB Harris, Najee 

FB Watt, Derek 

 

WR Justin Jefferson

WR THIELEN, ADAM 

TE Conklin, Tyler

QB COUSINS, KIRK 

RB Cook, Dalvin 

FB Ham, CJ 

 

 

Passing: B. Roethlisberger (2758)

Rushing: N. Harris (779)

Receiving: D. Johnson (914)

Touchdowns: N. Harris (7)

 

Passing: K. Cousins (3353)

Rushing: D. Cook (773)

Receiving: J. Jefferson (1209)

Touchdowns: A. Thielen (10)

 

Coaches:

Pittsburgh Steelers: Mike Tomlin (15th season)

Minnesota Vikings: Mike Zimmer (8th season)