Vikings-Eagles Player Props & Anytime Touchdown Bet (Sept. 14)

The Philadelphia Eagles and Minnesota Vikings will do battle after a short week. They’ll take the field at Lincoln Financial Field on Thursday. The Eagles blew the Vikings out in primetime of Week 2 last year, but they had an extra day of rest to prepare since it was on a Monday. Let’s identify the best Vikings-Eagles player prop picks and anytime touchdown scorer bets for Week 2’s edition of Thursday Night Football.

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Vikings-Eagles Player Props & Anytime Touchdown Bet | Thursday Night Football

Thursday Night Football Betting Odds

Odds via FanDuel Sportsbook
Vikings: +200 | Eagles: -245
Vikings +6.5: -120 | Eagles -6.5: -102
Over 49.5: -105 | Under 49.5: -115

Vikings-Eagles Player Prop

Are the jokes about Kirk Cousins struggling in primetime based on real data, or are they just another worthless narrative? Record-wise, Cousins is only 11-18 as a starter in primetime games but is 55-33-1 in early Sunday afternoon games. His completion percentage even ticks up from 66.6% in early afternoon games to 66.8% in primetime. However, he averages only 0.7 interceptions per early afternoon game but 0.9 per primetime game.

Cousins is known as one of the NFL’s more accurate quarterbacks, but in a pass-heavy scheme run by Kevin O’Connell, he gets plenty of chances to make mistakes. Cousins threw 14 interceptions on 22 interceptable passes last year, good for 0.8 per game, and tossed at least one interception in eight of his 17 starts (47%), including both of his appearances in primetime.

But there are more to Cousins’ struggles than the extra attention that comes with playing in primetime. Cousins is not an accurate passer when pressured on the road. The Vikings played five road games against teams with pass rushes that ended the year ranked top-15 in pressure percentage, and Cousins threw at least one interception in four of them. The lone exception came against the Detroit Lions.

Although it looks like safety Reed Blankenship and cornerback James Bradberry may not be available for Philadelphia on Thursday, the Eagles have a more impressive pass rush than they did when they faced the Vikings last year. Rookie Jalen Carter got off to a ferocious start and currently ranks second among defensive linemen in pass-rush win rate (32%). Fletcher Cox isn’t far behind in fifth (25%). With Cousins’ starting center out and his star left tackle questionable, expect the Eagles to pressure Cousins plenty on Thursday night.

Kirk Cousins over 0.5 interceptions is my top player prop pick for Thursday’s Vikings-Eagles game. The Eagles intercepted opposing quarterbacks 17 times last year, and although ball-hawking safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson led the team with six but left in free agency, Darius Slay had three, including two on Cousins. Avonte Maddox also picked off the veteran quarterback and will be available Thursday.

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Vikings-Eagles Player Prop Pick: Kirk Cousins Over 0.5 Interceptions -114 at FanDuel

Vikings-Eagles Anytime Touchdown Scorer

If the Minnesota Vikings thought they had a chance to stop Jalen Hurts from sneaking the ball into the end zone last year, they have an even worse chance now. Minnesota parted ways with veteran nose tackle Dalvin Tomlinson in the offseason. Harrison Phillips, who often worked alongside him last year, now takes over. Phillips ranks a steady fifth in run-stop win rate among interior defensive linemen after Week 1, but he remains behind Tomlinson in the metric.

With Phillips no longer flanking Tomlinson, the Vikings will rely on defensive ends Dean Lowry and Jonathan Bullard, along with rotational defensive tackle Khyiris Tonga, in goal-line situations. Lowry is off to a terrible start this year with a PFF grade of 41.8. He recorded a 59.3 last year. Likewise, Bullard owns a 61.5 after recording a 56.5 last year. Tonga leads the pack with a 67.5, but he played only nine snaps, most of which came in relief of Phillips.

Minnesota’s defensive front couldn’t stop Hurts from rushing for two touchdowns last year, one from three yards out and another from 26 yards out. Minnesota allowed the 13th-most rushing yards to quarterbacks (342) and the sixth-most rushing touchdowns (4) last year. Justin Fields tallied 47 yards against them, Josh Allen picked up 84, Kyler Murray got 36 and Daniel Jones got 34 — but none of them found paydirt. Mike White and Taysom Hill (tracked as a tight end) both converted goal-to-go quarterback sneaks, while Aaron Rodgers ran one in from two yards out by himself.

Jalen Hurts was Philadelphia’s most-used rusher near the goal line. He earned 37% of the team’s carries inside the 20-yard line, 36.1% inside the 10 and 48.8% inside the five. Miles Sanders was the only member of the Eagles to record a larger share of rushes inside the 20-yard line, but he was used less than Hurts in goal-to-go situations, and he is now in Carolina. Kenneth Gainwell, who may miss this contest with an injury, was third.

When head coach Nick Sirianni is choosing who to give the ball near the goal line, expect him to trust Hurts over newcomers like D’Andre Swift and Rashaad Penny because of his experience in this offense. Gainwell was the only player to log rushing attempts inside the 20- and 10-yard lines last week, so if he misses Thursday’s game, the red-zone carries should belong to Hurts.

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