The Steelers have made the trek to the Twins Cities area to take on a much ballyhooed Vikings team. The game kicks off at 8:00pm ET and will broadcast live on CBS. It is uncertain how much time starting quarterback Tavaris Jackson will see after spraining his knee against the Ravens. NFL betting odds at SBGglobal.com are favoring the Steelers on the road at -2.5.
Head Coach Brad Childress might start Jackson but he will probably yank him relatively quickly and insert veteran quarterback Gus Frerotte. Frerotte is 8-of-16 for 129 yards this pre-season. With Jackson being limited, the Vikings will look to give their running game a good test tonight against a Pittsburgh defense that ranked number one in the NFL last season. Adrian Peterson and the Minnesota ground game produced 133 yards last week, but they would like to see their yards per carry average a little higher than 3.5.
Pittsburgh suffered a 24-21 defeat at the hands the Bills last week in Toronto. They were outscored 14-7 in the first half by Buffalo and they made quarterback Trent Edwards look like the second coming of Jim Kelly. Edwards abused the Steelers secondary, going 9-of-11 for 104 yards and two touchdowns. Head Coach Mike Tomlin will be looking for a little better effort this week with the starters playing the first half.
The Steelers offense looked good against the Bills, but they will probably face a bigger challenge this week in Minnesota. Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger was 9-of-11 last week for 142 and a touchdown. He will certainly feel some heat tonight from defensive end Jared Allen. Allen looked like everything the Vikings thought they were getting when he produced three tackles and two sacks in the first half of the Ravens game.
SBGglobal.com's line for tonight's game:
Steelers -2.5 (-125), Over 36.5 (-110), -150 (Money line)
Vikings +2.5 (+105), Under 36.5 (-110), +130 (Money line)
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