Sharp Money Backing Vikings on Thursday Night Football vs. Steelers

If you thought bettors might stay away from the Minnesota Vikings this week after losing to the once winless Detroit Lions last Sunday, think again.

The latest splits for Thursday Night Football just came out over at WynnBET Sportsbook, and while the public is fairly split on the number of betting tickets, the sharps have made it clear they're backing the Vikings at home against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

After opening at -3, the line shifted initially to the Vikings at -3.5, before immediately going back down to Pittsburgh +3 on Monday morning. Since then, the line held steady until earlier today, where late movement came in on Minnesota, pushing the number back to 3 and the hook (.5).

According to WynnBET, 49% of the betting tickets are on Pittsburgh +3.5 this evening, making the ticket count almost 50/50. However, 68.5% of the handle on the spread is on the Vikings -3.5.

Are Steelers bettors putting up anything for an upset? To a certain extent, yes. 48.3% of the bets, as well as 49.8% of the money are on Pittsburgh to win on the moneyline with odds of +155 (bet $100 to win $155).

Lastly, the total has done a bit of a yo-yo this week. After opening Sunday at 45, the line got bet down to 44 early in the week. However, the number has now gone back up to 45 in similar fashion to the Vikings at -3.5. The difference here is there's been a bit of reverse line movement, as 76% of the betting handle remains on the under 45, compared to just under 53% of the bets.

The play on the Vikings and the move to the OVER goes against several notable trends this year. Unders have hit in 11 of 14 Thursday night games this season, and Kirk Cousins is 9-16 ATS in prime time over his career.

Meanwhile, our Iain MacMillan was on the Vikings at -3 earlier today on a brand new episode of "Bet & Breakfast" the BetSided podcast.