3 Props to Bet in Vikings vs Rams on Week 4 Thursday Night Football
- Vikings vs Rams on Thursday Night Football kicks off the NFL’s Week 4 schedule.
- Don’t have any fantasy players going tonight? Up the stakes with a wager or two on the game props.
- Below, find the three prop bets we are playing in tonight’s tilt between NFC contenders.
The 3-0 Rams welcome the 1-1-1 Vikings to Memorial Coliseum tonight (8:20 PM ET). Despite a few slow starts, the undefeated Rams boast an NFL-best +66 point differential. They are coming off a 35-23 win over the Chargers and have scored at least 33 points in every game this season.
The Vikings, on the other hand, suffered the biggest upset of the season to date in Week 3, losing by 21 to the Bills (27-6) in a game they entered as 17-point favorites.
Follow the link for a full Vikings vs Rams game preview. Keep reading to get our take on the game-within-the-game, i.e. the three side bets we’re most confident in.
Spoiler alert: we expect Todd Gurley to be good.
Prop #1: No Defensive/Special Teams Touchdowns
| Will there be a defensive/special teams TD in the game? | Odds |
|---|---|
| YES | +170 |
| NO | -200 |
Between kickoffs and punt returns, these teams have combined for just two return touchdowns over the last two years.
They had six defensive touchdowns combined in 2017 (five for the Rams, one for the Vikings) and Marcus Peters had a pick-six in Week 1 …
… but Jared Goff protects the football well (2 INTs this year; 7 INTs in 2017) and Kirk Cousins (2 INTs this year; 13 INTs in 2017) will be on high alert after what happened last week against Buffalo.
Another factor that favors the “NO” side is that Minnesota’s best edge rusher, Everson Griffen, is out. That lessens the potential for a scoop-and-score. On the Rams side, starting CB Aqib Talib is out and Peters, his partner in picks, is also unlikely to play.
Prop #2: Player to Score the First Touchdown
| Who will score the first TD of the game? | Odds |
|---|---|
| Adam Thielen | +1200 |
The Vikings have yet to score a rushing touchdown all season and #1 RB Dalvin Cook is banged-up (though likely to play). While Stefon Diggs has three receiving TDs to just one for Adam Thielen, it’s Thielen that has emerged as Cousins’ favorite target. He has 44 targets to Diggs’ 29.
The favorite on this prop is obviously LA’s Todd Gurley (+350), but Mike Zimmer is going to have his team fired up out of the gate after laying such an egg in Week 3. Expect a much better start from Minnesota.
Prop #3: Todd Gurley Over 119.5 Total Yards
| How many rushing and receiving yards will Todd Gurley have? | Odds |
|---|---|
| OVER 119.5 | -135 |
| UNDER 119.5 | +115 |
In the last eight regular-season games, Gurley has compiled the following yardage:
- 156 (vs LA Chargers, Week 3, 2018)
- 73 (vs Arizona, Week 2, 2018)
- 147 (@ Oakland, Week 1, 2018)
- 276 (@ Tennessee, Week 17, 2017)
- 180 (@ Seattle, Week 16, 2017)
- 135 (vs Philadelphia, Week 15, 2017)
- 158 (@ Arizona, Week 14, 2017)
- 154 (vs New Orleans, Week 13, 2017)
The only time he was held under 119.5 yards was two weeks ago in Arizona. The Rams controlled that game almost from start to finish, whitewashing the Cardinals 34-0. Gurley didn’t even play in the fourth quarter, and some of his 19 rushing attempts came against heavily stacked boxes. With such a big lead, the entire world knew the Rams were going to run the ball.
Barring a Minnesota meltdown, the game script tonight is going to be drastically different. The Rams will need Gurley to be his usual productive self, and recent history indicates he’ll be exactly that.
The Vikings defense has shown some vulnerability to pass-catching RBs this season, to boot. Chris Ivory had 56 rushing yards and 70 receiving yards for Buffalo last week, and Kyle Juszczyk had a 56-yard catch out of the backfield for the 49ers in Week 1.
Sascha was a hockey player in his youth, a lawyer in his capricious mid-20s, and has been with SBD since 2014. He specializes in football, basketball, politics, baseball, and hockey.
