Vikings Vs. Steelers: Odds, Analysis, Picks For NFL Week 2 Game

Editor’s note: NESN.com’s Mike Cole, Ricky Doyle and Andre Khatchaturian deliver their NFL picks every Thursday of the season, and here’s who they like in the Minnesota Vikings-Pittsburgh Steelers Week 2 game, with the line from MyBookie.AG.

Minnesota Vikings at (-6) Pittsburgh Steelers, Sunday, 1 p.m. ET
Mike: Steelers. Not gonna overreact to the Vikings’ performance Monday night. (They were playing the Saints, after all.) Pittsburgh, meanwhile, was a wagon at home last season with an 8-2 straight-up record and a 5-3-2 record against the spread. Penalties and turnovers made it close last week in Cleveland, but a return to Heinz Field should fix those issues.
Ricky: Vikings. Do I suddenly think Minnesota is a legitimate Super Bowl contender? Nope. But I do like getting six points here after what I saw from the Vikings’ offensive line in Week 1. The unit seems capable of mitigating the Steelers’ vaunted pass rush and paving running lanes for rookie Dalvin Cook, who could significantly improve Minnesota’s rushing attack this season.
Andre: Steelers. Ben Roethlisberger has been struggling lately (14 touchdowns, 11 interceptions in his last 10 games) but seven of those games were on the road. Roethlisberger is 16-4 with 59 touchdown passes and 16 interceptions in home games since 2014. On the road, he’s 14-9 with 25 touchdown passes and 23 interceptions. He?s been getting protection lately, too (only sacked six times in the last 10 games). The Steelers also have 32 sacks in the last eight games, and they’ll pressure Bradford to a much greater extent than the Saints did.