Thursday Night Football Preview: Week 2

The opening week of the 2023 NFL season was filled with surprises. A good percentage of those were poor ones. That includes both participants in tonight’s games. Hopefully, both squads can turn it around, but we’ll dig deep in our Thursday Night Football Preview: Week 2.

Philadelphia managed to pull out a win in Week 1 but had an underwhelming offensive showing in New England. Meanwhile, the Vikings were stunned at home, losing to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 20-17.

Both teams are loaded with fantasy-relevant talent. The main question is will we see both offenses rebound? The FullTime Fantasy Thursday Night Football Preview: Week 2 analyzes the game with fantasy tips, DFS picks, and our best bet.

Matchup

TEAM	OFFENSE	PASS	RUSH	YDS/PLAY	POINTS
Minnesota Vikings	6	3	31	2	20
Philadelphia Eagles	24	23	14	22	8

Both squads fought in close matchups in their openers. Philadelphia’s potent offense was held to 154 passing yards by Bill Belcichik’s defense. The Eagles were just 4-of-13 on third downs and held to 4.1 yards per play.

Expect things to rebound for Philly on Thursday. Turnovers did the Vikings in last week. Minnesota outplayed the Buccaneers but lost the turnover battle 3-0. For the Vikings to have a shot against a tough Eagles team on the road, they must clean up that part of their game.

Minnesota enters this game as a 6.5-point underdog. The over/under of 49 is the second-highest of the slate.

Let’s break down what that means from a fantasy football and sports betting perspective in our Thursday Night Football Preview: Week 2.

Minnesota Offense

Minnesota largely outplayed Tampa at home in Week 1. Turnover, penalties, and red-zone struggles ultimately did the Vikings in. For Kevin O’Connell’s squad to have any shot at pulling a Week 2 upset in a hostile environment, they’ll have to clean up those miscues.

From a fantasy view, Kirk Cousins played well enough in the opener. Cousins threw for 344 yards and a pair of touchdowns. However, Cousins also turned the ball over three times. That sort of carelessness won’t do against a tough Eagles defense. Philadelphia allowed the 10th-fewest fantasy points to quarterbacks last season.

Cousins also must contend with traveling to play in one of the most hostile environments in the NFL. Additionally, Cousins has a poor track record in nationally televised games.

A touchdown helped mask what was a poor showing for Alexander Mattison in Week 1. Mattison’s 11 rushing attempts resulted in a paltry 34 yards. He did catch three balls, but only for 10 yards and the TD reception. We liked to see the 73.4% snap share last week. However, the chances of a breakout game against a tough Philadelphia defense are slim. View Mattison as a volume-based RB2.

Justin Jefferson didn’t disappoint in the season opener. The All-Pro hauled in 9-of-12 targets for 150 scoreless yards. Jefferson will be shadowed by CB Darius Slay. However, Jefferson is a must-start in any format, including as a potential DFS captain.

Jordan Addison saw a 56.2% snap rate on Sunday. However, he took advantage of the muted playing time by catching 4-of-6 targets for 61 yards and a TD grab. The Vikings will utilize their wideouts all over the field, so expect a few more slot reps this week.

This isn’t a great matchup for K.J. Osborn. However, Osborn did play 91% of Minnesota’s snaps. Also, he is most likely to stay in the lineup in two-wide sets. That, and the discounted price, make Osborn a decent DFS option with limited upside.

Philadelphia allowed just 11.2 fantasy points to tight ends a year ago. However, New England’s duo of Hunter Henry and Mike Gesicki hit the Eagles for 8-of-9 targets for 92 yards and a score. T.J. Hockenson is a locked-in top-5 option.

Philadelphia Offense

The Patriots did a good job on Jalen Hurts on Sunday. However, Minnesota will be hard-pressed to do the same. The Vikings allowed the fifth-most fantasy points to quarterbacks in 2022. Plus, Baker Mayfield was able to compile a 94.4 QB Rating on Sunday. Expect Hurts to rebound from an inauspicious debut and post top-3 fantasy numbers in Week 2.

Kenneth Gainwell is out. After being limited to just two touches in Week 1, expect D’Andre Swfit to be much more involved. The Vikings were solid against Rachaad White last week. However, Swift is far more explosive. That said, the lack of involvement in the opener is worrisome, so view Swift as a boom-or-bust pick rather than a must-start.

Rashaad Penny was a healthy scratch last week. With Gainwell out, Penny will make his debut but can’t be trusted in season-long lineups. However, I do have some interest in DFS due to Penny’s big-play ability and an intriguing matchup against a Minnesota defense that ranked 22nd versus running backs in 2022.

Boston Scott will also see more touches and could factor in on passing downs and in the red zone.

Minnesota plays a lot of zone coverage. A.J. Brown is a beast versus man, but this is still an elite matchup for Brown. Both of the Vikings’ perimeter cornerbacks are under 200 pounds, giving Brown a notable size advantage. Expect another double-digit target performance out of Brown, who should contend for WR1 numbers.

DeVonta Smith has the fourth-best odds to score a touchdown in this game. Also, Smith’s over/under is 62.5 yards. Both of those lines look promising. The Eagles’ passing game should rebound nicely and Smith performs well as a zone-busting outlet option when Jalen Hurts is blitzed.

TE Dallas Goedert was shut out last week. That won’t happen again. In fact, I expect Philadelphia to make a strong effort to correct that in this game. Goedert caught five balls for 82 yards against Minnesota last season.

Prediction & Best Bet

The Eagles have won nine of their last 12 home games. Also, they’ve covered eight of those games. Also, Philadelphia has fared well against the Vikings. They’re 9-2 straight up and ATS versus Minnesota.

Meanwhile, Kirk Cousins is 12-20 in primetime games. However, he’s been much better on Thursdays. Since joining the Vikings, Cousins has compiled a 3-1 record on TNF with a 106.9 QB Rating.

Still, the Vikings have been ice-cold against the spread. Minnesota has only covered one of their last seven games.

Last week, I hit on the Lions covering as underdogs in K.C. Although I think the Eagles have a good shot at covering, I’m looking a the total. Both teams are capable of moving the ball fairly well. The OVER is 12-5 in Philly dating back to 2021. Also, seven of Minnesota’s last nine games have gone OVER.

Best Bet: OVER 49 WIN

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