We finally got an exciting Thursday Night Football game, but it certainly didn’t look that way in the first half. In fact, the game started off so lop-sided that I’m sure people thought it was over and didn’t even stick around for the excitement. It was a tale of two halves as Minnesota dominated the first half and went into halftime with a 23-0 lead. In fact, they led 29-0 before Pittsburgh even got their first points on the board. But just like your Christmas decorations when you flip the switch, something clicked, and the Steelers just turned it on. They came all the way back and had a shot to tie the game from the Minnesota 12-yard line on the final play, but a beautiful pass that landed in the hands of Pat Freiermuth in the endzone was punched out by Harrison Smith to save the game. The Vikings were able to narrowly escape with a 36-28 victory over the Steelers.
The story coming into this game was the surprise activation of Dalvin Cook only 11 days after sustaining a shoulder injury that most thought would keep him out several weeks. The conversation in the fantasy football community was if Minnesota rushed Cook back too early and if he would be effective. Dalvin sure showed everybody that he was ready! Cook had 2 touchdowns in the first half and dominated the Pittsburgh defense on the ground. Cook finished the night with 27 carries for 205 yards and 2 touchdowns while adding a 17-yard reception as well. Dalvin looked great and helped Minnesota stay alive in the playoff hunt.
Justin Jefferson got the scoring started with an easy 14-yard touchdown in the first quarter. With the absence of Adam Thielen, we all knew Jefferson would be relied on to be the man in the passing game and he certainly was the guy. He was targeted 15 times and caught 7 passes for 79 yards and a touchdown.
KJ Osborn, who was a popular waiver wire pickup due to the Thielen injury, was targeted 9 times but he and Kirk Cousins weren’t on the same page most of the night. Of those 9 targets, Osborn only caught 3 passes but went for 83 yards thanks to a big 62-yard touchdown in the 4th quarter.
With Cook leading the way and Minnesota playing with the lead all game, Kirk Cousins didn’t have to do much. He completed 14 of 31 passes for 216 yards. He had 2 touchdown passes to go with 2 second half interceptions that kept Pittsburgh in the game. Cousins once again had a prime-time implosion that almost cost his team the game, but lucky for him Minnesota was able to hang on.
On the other side, Ben Roethlisberger was forced to throw a lot. Roethlisberger was a completely different person in the second half than the guy we saw in the first half of this game. Big Ben was pressured a bunch and was sacked 4 times in the first half. After a 3rd quarter interception that set up the field goal that gave Minnesota a 29-0 lead, Roethlisberger turned it on and threw 3 touchdown passes in the final 17 minutes of the game. He finished the night going 28 for 40 for 307 yards to go with the 3 touchdowns and 1 interception.
Najee Harris was on the receiving end of the first touchdown pass and ended up having a productive game with a nice second half. The touchdown reception was 1 of his 3 catches and he carried the ball 20 times for 94 yards and added a rushing touchdown as well.
Dionte Johnson led the Steelers in targets with 10 but only caught 5 passes for 76 yards. He didn’t have a touchdown but did get a 2-point conversion reception late in the 4th quarter to make it a 1 score game.
Chase Claypool ended up leading the Steelers in receptions and yards after catching 4 passes on the final drive. He had a couple of big plays but also had a bonehead, diva moment when he caught a first down pass with under a minute left and decided to celebrate the catch and pose instead of rushing the ball back to the official as the clock ticked down. Claypool finished the night with 8 catches for 93 yards on 9 targets and a confirmed reputation of being a diva.
Other Notes:
James Washington had 4 catches for 65 yards and went up to make a beautiful 30-yard touchdown catch in the 4th quarter.
Tyler Conklin had a quiet game, only catching 2 passes for 20 yards.
Pat Freiermuth also wasn’t targeted much but caught 2 of his 3 targets for 32 yards and a touchdown. The one missed target was the final play of the game where Roethlisberger delivered a perfect pass in a tight window right into Freiermuth’s hands, but it was punched out by the veteran Harrison Smith.
Speedy slot receiver Ray-Ray McCloud could be a guy to keep an eye on in PPR leagues. He had 6 catches on 8 targets for 32 yards.
After a 1st quarter missed field goal and missed extra point, Greg Joseph had a nice night finishing 3 for 4 on both field goals and extra points.
That will do it for the week 14 Thursday Night Football Wrap Up. Make sure you head over to Razzball.com and check out Rudy Gamble’s Pigskinator as you get ready to set the rest of your week 14 lineup. You are always invited to follow me on Twitter @FantasyCoachJB and ask me any questions you may have. Good luck in your crucial week 14 fantasy matchups. May you all clinch your playoff spots if you haven’t already!
