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Welcome to our Thursday Night Football week! After a critical win on Sunday, the Pittsburgh Steelers travel to Minneapolis on a short week to take on the Minnesota Vikings. The Steelers haven’t faced the Vikings since 2017, and this matchup comes in the form of a must-win for both teams. Last week, the Vikings handed the Detroit Lions their first win of the season on a last-second touchdown and are looking to right the ship against the Steelers. This is the Vikings’ annual Color Rush game, so the Steelers are preparing for a loud Minnesota crowd.
Let’s take a look at some things we can look forward to on Sunday.
Offense: Earlier this week, we heard Ben Roethlisberger explain some about what the Vikings’ defense brings to the matchup. Their defensive scheme is not an overly complicated one, as it is more reliant on the skillset of each individual and exploiting offenses’ weak spots. Set to return this week to the Vikings’ defense is all-pro cornerback Patrick Peterson (COVID) and their middle linebacker duo of Anthony Barr (knee/hamstring) and Eric Kendricks (biceps). The Vikings tend to rely heavily on their linebackers and look to incorporate them on every down. However, with half of the starting Vikings’ defensive line out, the linebackers are probably going to be blitzing more, thus opening up the middle of the field. The biggest matchup I’m watching this week is the Steelers’ inside receivers versus the Vikings’ linebackers. Specifically, more play-action calls to force the linebackers up close, then getting the ball to Pat Freiermuth or whoever is playing in the slot. Offensive coordinator Matt Canada may also look for easy dump-off passes to Najee Harris as well and letting him improvise to move the sticks. The Vikings are ranked in the bottom third of almost every defensive category (third-worst overall in the league), so look for the offensive line to also wear down the Vikings’ front as the game progresses.
Defense: The Steelers should feel a bit lucky this week in that they won’t have to plan for Adam Theilen (ankle) and Dalvin Cook (shoulder). Cook and Theilen account for a large bulk of the Vikings’ offensive performance, but the Steelers can’t forget second-year receiver, Justin Jefferson. Since Jefferson was drafted in 2020, he’s put up impressive numbers and has been a pain for opposing defenses. Therefore, this is one matchup we should watch; the Steelers’ secondary versus Jefferson. With Theilen being out, this will allow the Steelers to double-up Jefferson in efforts to contain him. Look for Minkah Fitzpatrick to shadow Jefferson all game to minimize his impact on the game.
The next matchup I’m watching is the Steelers’ pass rush versus Kirk Cousins. Cousins has been having a quietly good season, throwing for over 3,300 yards with 25 touchdowns and only 3 interceptions. But with star rookie left tackle, Christian Darrisaw (ankle), missing this week’s game, this opens up a favorable matchup for the Steelers. With the Vikings forced to double-team TJ Watt, Alex Highsmith is going to have plenty of opportunities to get to Cousins. Cousins does not perform well with a moving or collapsing pocket, and the Steelers front seven are going to be getting after that all night.
This is a weird game to predict. On paper, this looks to be a favorable matchup for the Steelers. However, Las Vegas disagrees, currently listing Minnesota as a 3.5-point favorite. Weird things happen on Thursday nights, and I see the Steelers dropping this game and falling back to .500. Prediction, 24-20, Vikings.
The Steelers and Vikings series has been fairly contested, as each team has won and lost 9 games. Looking back at the last 3 games, the listed home team won. With the Vikings’ U.S. Bank Stadium being just 5 years old, this is head coach Mike Tomlin’s and Roethlisberger’s first time playing in the newer arena. Roethlisberger is also entering this week with some extra juice; he only needs 335 passing yards to move to the fifth-most passing yards in the NFL (Philip Rivers currently sits at 63,440 passing yards with Roethlisberger at 63,106 yards). Even if he falls short on Thursday night, this is a milestone a lot of fans will be looking for as the season progresses forward.
What are you watching for on Thursday night? What do you think the final outcome will be? Let us know in the comments below!
#SteelerNation
Support SteelerNation by clicking here to read the story..
Let’s take a look at some things we can look forward to on Sunday.
MATCHUPS AT A GLANCE
Offense: Earlier this week, we heard Ben Roethlisberger explain some about what the Vikings’ defense brings to the matchup. Their defensive scheme is not an overly complicated one, as it is more reliant on the skillset of each individual and exploiting offenses’ weak spots. Set to return this week to the Vikings’ defense is all-pro cornerback Patrick Peterson (COVID) and their middle linebacker duo of Anthony Barr (knee/hamstring) and Eric Kendricks (biceps). The Vikings tend to rely heavily on their linebackers and look to incorporate them on every down. However, with half of the starting Vikings’ defensive line out, the linebackers are probably going to be blitzing more, thus opening up the middle of the field. The biggest matchup I’m watching this week is the Steelers’ inside receivers versus the Vikings’ linebackers. Specifically, more play-action calls to force the linebackers up close, then getting the ball to Pat Freiermuth or whoever is playing in the slot. Offensive coordinator Matt Canada may also look for easy dump-off passes to Najee Harris as well and letting him improvise to move the sticks. The Vikings are ranked in the bottom third of almost every defensive category (third-worst overall in the league), so look for the offensive line to also wear down the Vikings’ front as the game progresses.
Defense: The Steelers should feel a bit lucky this week in that they won’t have to plan for Adam Theilen (ankle) and Dalvin Cook (shoulder). Cook and Theilen account for a large bulk of the Vikings’ offensive performance, but the Steelers can’t forget second-year receiver, Justin Jefferson. Since Jefferson was drafted in 2020, he’s put up impressive numbers and has been a pain for opposing defenses. Therefore, this is one matchup we should watch; the Steelers’ secondary versus Jefferson. With Theilen being out, this will allow the Steelers to double-up Jefferson in efforts to contain him. Look for Minkah Fitzpatrick to shadow Jefferson all game to minimize his impact on the game.
The next matchup I’m watching is the Steelers’ pass rush versus Kirk Cousins. Cousins has been having a quietly good season, throwing for over 3,300 yards with 25 touchdowns and only 3 interceptions. But with star rookie left tackle, Christian Darrisaw (ankle), missing this week’s game, this opens up a favorable matchup for the Steelers. With the Vikings forced to double-team TJ Watt, Alex Highsmith is going to have plenty of opportunities to get to Cousins. Cousins does not perform well with a moving or collapsing pocket, and the Steelers front seven are going to be getting after that all night.
PREDICTION
This is a weird game to predict. On paper, this looks to be a favorable matchup for the Steelers. However, Las Vegas disagrees, currently listing Minnesota as a 3.5-point favorite. Weird things happen on Thursday nights, and I see the Steelers dropping this game and falling back to .500. Prediction, 24-20, Vikings.
FINAL THOUGHTS
The Steelers and Vikings series has been fairly contested, as each team has won and lost 9 games. Looking back at the last 3 games, the listed home team won. With the Vikings’ U.S. Bank Stadium being just 5 years old, this is head coach Mike Tomlin’s and Roethlisberger’s first time playing in the newer arena. Roethlisberger is also entering this week with some extra juice; he only needs 335 passing yards to move to the fifth-most passing yards in the NFL (Philip Rivers currently sits at 63,440 passing yards with Roethlisberger at 63,106 yards). Even if he falls short on Thursday night, this is a milestone a lot of fans will be looking for as the season progresses forward.
What are you watching for on Thursday night? What do you think the final outcome will be? Let us know in the comments below!
#SteelerNation
Support SteelerNation by clicking here to read the story..
