Pittsburgh Steelers at Minnesota Vikings - 12/9/21 NFL Picks and Predictions

The Pittsburgh Steelers and Minnesota Vikings face off on Thursday night football at US Bank Stadium. When these two teams faced off in 2017 it was the Steelers that came away with the 26-9 victory. 

The Steelers come into this game with a 5-7-1 record overall and they have gone 5-7 against the spread. This is a team that has been very inconsistent this season, but they are coming off a one-point victory over the Ravens. The Steelers outscored the Ravens 17-9 in the 4th quarter and that was the difference. The Steelers are averaging 20.3 points while their defense is giving up 23.8 points per game. Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger has been inconsistent this season but he has thrown for 2,758 yards, 16 touchdowns, and six interceptions. One issue for this Steelers team is they are only averaging only 2.83 points per game in the 1st quarter. One big question for the Steelers is the status of Chase Claypool who is dealing with turf toe and he is questionable for this game. 

On the other side of this matchup is the Minnesota Vikings who sit with a 5-7 record and they have gone 6-6 against the spread. The Vikings have been ultra inconsistent this year and they are coming off a terrible loss in their last game against the Detroit Lions. The offense was strong in the last game but the defense once again let them down, something that has been a consistent factor. The offense is averaging 25.7 points while their defense is giving up 25.4 points per game. On the season, Kirk Cousins has thrown for 3,353 yards, 25 touchdowns, and three interceptions. One big issue for this team coming into this game is injuries. Dalvin Cook and Adam Thielen are expected to miss this game. Eric Kendricks is dealing with a pectoral injury, and it’s unclear if he will be able to go in this game.