Betting Odds
Point Spread: Minnesota -3.5
Total Line: 34.5
Some of us are dying for any kind of NFL action after waiting six months since Super Bowl 49 was played. This weekend is when we can get a taste of NFL betting and get our feet wet with some wagering on 2015 Hall of Fame Game.
The 2015 Hall of Fame Game features the Pittsburgh Steelers versus the Minnesota Vikings to be played on Sunday August 9th at Fawcett Stadium with the kick off scheduled for 8:00 PM ET. The linesmaker at Bovada has the Minnesota Vikings as a 3.5 point betting favorite on the point spread line with the total for this game at 34.5.
Last season in the 2014 Hall of Fame Game it was the Buffalo Bills versus the New York Giants with the Giants scoring a late touchdown to get the 17-14 win and cover as a three point underdog. The game went under the total line of 36.5 points.
The Steelers are coming off of a surprising 11-5 season in what was considered a rebuilding year. They’re more experienced overall this season, but they may have a tough time duplicating last season’s win total and winning spread record of 9-7 in the regular season. The sportsbooks certainly do listing Pittsburgh’s OVER/Under season win total at 8.5 wins.
The Vikings started the season without running back Adrian Peterson and had rookie Teddy Bridgewater behind center for 13 of their last 14 games, so to say that their 7-9 record was a surprise would be an understatement. This season Peterson returns to the backfield and with Bridgewater having 13 games under his belt there’s talk of making the playoffs this season. The bookmakers have mixed feelings about that posting a 7.5 win total at many sports betting sites.
In this year’s Hall of Fame Game the Steelers will be sitting a lot of starters especially on the offensive side of things. Ben Roethlisberger is going to sit out with Landry Jones expected to get most of the playing time behind center. Also on the sidelines will be star running back Le’Veon Bell and wide receiver Antonio Brown. Tight end Heath Miller will also miss the game as well as center Maurice Pouncey. On the defensive side of things the Steelers are going be extremely thin at safety with four players banged up.
The Vikings are relatively healthy coming into this game. Starting Linebacker Anthony Barr is dealing with a knee issue and won’t play and handful of depth players missed practice and are unlikely to play WR Gavin Lutman, FB Zach Line, C Joe Berger, G David Yankey and DEs B.J. Dubose and Scott Crichton.
Pittsburgh vs Minnesota Betting Trends
The game total has gone under 3-0-1 in the Steelers last 4 games overall.
The Steelers are 4-1 against the spread in their last 5 games overall.
Minnesota is 5-1 against the spread in the last 6 games overall.
The Vikings are 5-1 against the spread in their last 6 games on the turf.
Consensus Betting ATS
Pittsburgh: 56%
Minnesota: 44%
Free NFL Pick
WE expect the offense to be vanilla so this may not be as large of a factor as it would be in a regular season game, but the edge at the QB position is huge for the Vikings. Landry Jones is expected to get most of the action in this game and while he does have prior preseason experience, he has yet to throw a pass in a pro game. In comparison the Vikings will have Bridgewater with 13 starts in his career and Hill who has 736 completions and 49 Touchdowns.
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