Here we go with the start of Week 8 in the NFL as Minnesota looks to bounce back from an ugly loss. The 5-1 Vikings squad suffered a gut-wrenching, last-minute loss to the Lions, and questions will start to surface about how good Minnesota truly is. The Rams aren’t good. At least that’s what their 2-4 record says, along with nothing they truly do well compared to the league. It’s an easy slide to the Vikings on paper, but that’s why they play the games — any given … Thursday, right? Here are your top two DraftKings Pick6 predictions for Thursday Night Football!
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DraftKings Pick6 NFL Predictions for Vikings-Rams
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Matthew Stafford M/L Than 238.5 Passing Yards
There’s one thing the Rams technically do well compared to the majority of the league: Throw the ball. They are a top-13 passing offense, but we’ve seen the team trail and have little resort but to throw. The 238.5 projection would indicate that people believe this trend will continue through Thursday night.
The reality is Minnesota, while winning the majority, was outplayed in each of its last four games. The Rams are on a short week, but they were on a bye the previous week. That turned things around last year and is in a good spot to rattle the Vikings.
I like the Rams to stay in this game and try to wear down the Vikings while keeping Justin Jefferson off the field. Cooper Kupp is back, but that should correlate to targets, not necessarily an increase of passing yards for Matthew Stafford. In fact, anything from a Rams cover to outright win comes with more of a ball control — quicker throws and getting the ball to Kyren Williams.
The other variable is the possible — at this point — return of Puka Nacua. Expect people to race and play Stafford’s more than 238.5 passing yards with both of his top targets coming back. We know better to play the game flow on a short week.
DraftKings Pick6 Prediction: Matthew Stafford More Than 238.5 Passing Yards
Aaron Jones M/L 69.5 Rushing Yards
The Vikings are in the same boat as the Rams: A short week and doing whatever they can to keep some high-powered weapons off the field. The easiest way to do that is keep Aaron Jones on the field. Sam Darnold and Jefferson present a tough issue to solve but their key to success comes with Jones; not just on the ground but in the air game too. The projection has moved up and down this morning, dropping to 67.5 and back to 69.5 at the time of writing.
Jones has topped 69.5 in four of six games this year — with one of those misses being a London game. The correlation is simple: The more the Vikings involve Jones, the better his production. We should expect upwards to 20 touches tonight, with 15 of those being rushing attempts. That’s plenty to push higher than 69.5 rushing yards; in fact, I’d take this up to 74.5 given the expected role for Jones.
Did we mention the Rams give up more than 130 yards per game rushing, 30th in the NFL? I just wanted to remind you if not — this Rams team is prime for ripping through on the ground. Some stuff is too obvious to ignore, like this specific matchup and how it favors Jones.
DraftKings Pick6 Prediction: Aaron Jones More Than 69.5 Rushing Yards
