It’s that time of the year where NFL teams start heading to exotic locations for their games. The first to do so this year are the Vikings and the Steelers, who make their way to Dublin, Ireland’s Croke Park. The international games always tend to produce weird results, so we’re breaking down all the possibilities for you in this Vikings-Steelers preview. Come check out what’s going down in the wee hours of Sunday morning.
The Vikings enter this one on the heels of a huge Week 3 victory. They welcomed the Bengals to Minnesota, but not exactly with open arms. They hung 48 on their visitors in that week en route to a blowout win – moving them to 2-1 in the process. With JJ McCarthy hurt, they leaned heavily on Jordan Mason on the ground in that one. He carried the ball 16 times for 116 yards and a pair of scores. They’ll need another big day from him in this one or to see a bit more from Carson Wentz, who will be under center yet again.
The Steelers are also coming off of a Week 3 victory, albeit a much less impressive one. They walked into New England and stole one from the Patriots by a score of 21-14, but it wasn’t pretty. Even worse for them, they may have lost Jaylen Warren to a knee injury. He’s listed as questionable for Sunday morning’s action, which means we may see some Kenneth Gainwell and a lot more Aaron Rodgers.
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Minnesota Vikings at Pittsburgh Steelers Preview and Predictions
Carson Wentz Under 213.5 Passing Yards (-113)
Even though I like the Vikings to win in this one, two things are true. In his first game under center, Wentz didn’t put up much in the way of numbers. He managed just 173 in the air and threw the ball just 20 times. Some of that was due to the fact that he was winning, but it’s not even like he was putting up big numbers per completion. Plus, with all of the traveling, I expect each team will be a little out of sync in this one.
Minnesota Vikings -2.5 (-115)
For my Vikings-Steelers prediction, I like the Vikings in this one and I like them to cover. Their offense looked the part last week, particularly on the ground. They’ve also allowed just 18.7 points per game so far in this short season. Additionally, the Steelers have looked flat offensively in their last two games. Possibly losing Warren or having a reduced version of him is not going to help that. I’ll take the Vikings by a field goal.
