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Expert Week 8 Thursday Night Football bets, anytime TD scorer, and player prop predictions. Free TNF betting picks, anytime TD scorer, and player props for Week 8.
Thursday Night Football heads to Inglewood, California, this week for an inter-conference battle between the 3-3 Minnesota Vikings and 4-3 Los Angeles Chargers. Both teams are coming off home losses and will be looking to bounce back on a short week.
The Carson Wentz-led Vikings fell to his former team, the Philadelphia Eagles, last week as Jalen Hurts and company got back on track in the pass game. Meanwhile, the Chargers ran into the buzz saw that is the 2025 Indianapolis Colts offense, which has been historically great through the first seven weeks of football.
Charged up for Week 8 ⚡ #TNFonPrime pic.twitter.com/386QL77flL
— NFL on Prime Video (@NFLonPrime) October 22, 2025
Can the Vikings pull off a win on the road, or will the Chargers find a way to come out on top? Let's get to the picks!
Thursday Night Football Odds and Spread
Minnesota Vikings +3.5 at Los Angeles Chargers (-178 ML)
Over/Under (44.5)
Wentz is in line to make his fifth start of the season, while J.J. McCarthy (ankle) will serve as the emergency QB3. Wentz hasn't been bad, but has his typical Wentzian moments a couple of times a game, which is mighty frustrating. As long as he is protected, he's often able to deliver to his star-studded WR duo of Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison.
The 32-year-old journeyman also happens to be the king of Thursday Night Football, owning a pristine 7-0 record straight up and 6-1 against the spread. And the dogs have been barking on Thursdays this season, with three teams over the last three weeks winning as +5.5 point dogs or more.
Top-5 in adjusted EPA through Week 7:
1) Dak Prescott
2) Drake Maye
3) Daniel Jones
4) Justin Herbert
5) Patrick Mahomes https://t.co/z3Chb1CmTC— Kevin Cole (@KevinCole___) October 22, 2025
Justin Herbert carried the Chargers against the Colts last week, but even his heroics weren’t enough. He threw for a career-high 420 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions, adding 31 yards on six rushes. His 451 total yards are the second most in a game this season, trailing Russell Wilson’s 473-yard day in Week 2 against Dallas.
2025 Betting Trends:
- Against the Spread: MIN 3-3, LAC 2-4-1
- As Home Team ATS: LAC 0-2-1
- As Away Team ATS: MIN 1-0 (two games played on neutral field)
- Over Game Total: MIN 5-1, LAC 3-4
Thursday Night Football Game Picks
Digging into some specifics of the matchup, Herbert has faced Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores twice so far in his career since entering the league in 2020. The first matchup occurred in Week 10 of Herbert's rookie season and Flores' second year as head coach of the Miami Dolphins.
It was the second-worst game of his rookie season by EPA per play (-0.23) and ranks among the lowest of Herbert’s 86-game career. He completed 20 of 32 passes for 187 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception, adding four rushes for 10 yards while also taking two sacks for a loss of 13 yards. The 27-year-old has only 15 games with fewer than 200 passing yards, including this one. Flores brought the blitz at a good amount (38.9%) and pressured Herbert on 47.2% of his dropbacks, 11th highest in a game of his career.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, Herbert absolutely torched Flores’ defense in their second meeting. It came in Week 3 of the 2023 season, Flores's first year as the Vikings' defensive coordinator. It was arguably the best game of Herbert's career statistically, completing 40 of 47 passes for a then-career high 405 yards with three touchdowns. It was the best single-game completion percentage (85.1%) for any quarterback with at least 45 pass attempts in NFL history.
Both teams like to air it out and play with pace. The league average for offensive plays per game sits at 61.2 through seven weeks of 2025. Excluding the two games started by J.J. McCarthy, when the Vikings struggled to sustain drives, they’ve run at least 65 plays in four of their other five contests. The Chargers, meanwhile, have hit 64 or more in six of seven games, including a whopping 80 last week against the Colts.
The Carson Wentz experience is wild because he had like two minutes of lowlights against the Eagles and he also did stuff like this: pic.twitter.com/hOdO7Kk5x6
— Will Ragatz (@WillRagatz) October 21, 2025
This matchup has all the makings of a high-scoring affair, leaning us toward the over. And it’s tough to fade the Thursday night king, Carson Wentz, especially getting points as a road underdog.
The Picks: Minnesota Vikings +3.5 (-120), Over 44.5 (-112)
Thursday Night Football Player Props
All odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook.
Justin Jefferson 100+ Receiving Yards (+174)
Jefferson posted back-to-back games with 120 or more receiving yards in Weeks 4 and 6, with Minnesota on bye in Week 5. The Chargers rely heavily on zone coverage, ranking seventh in Cover 3 usage (35.2%) and second in Cover 4 rate (24.1%), per Fantasy Points Data Suite. Jefferson leads the team with 3.67 yards per route run against Cover 3 and has drawn the most targets (five) in their limited sample against Cover 4.
While they haven't allowed the opposing No. 1 WR to go over 100 yards in their last three games, all three players had very productive days, with Deebo Samuel Sr. (96 yards) and Jaylen Waddle (95 yards) both coming close.
Oronde Gadsden 6+ Receptions (+240)
The emergence of the fifth-round rookie tight end out of Syracuse has been impressive to watch. Gadsden looked like a star last week against the Colts, posting 164 receiving yards, the third most ever by a rookie tight end in a single game. His route participation has surged over the past two weeks, reaching a season high of 78.7% in Week 7, and he’s now caught seven passes in back-to-back games. We’ll be looking for Herbert’s pass volume to stay elevated in this matchup, with plenty of targets likely headed toward his dynamic young tight end.
Carson Wentz Over 12.5 Rushing Yards (-114)
Wentz still likes to think of himself as his younger, more athletic self when he looks to scramble. He’s actually been more active as a runner over his past three starts, rushing for at least 12 yards in each, including a season-high 28 yards last week against Philadelphia. The Chargers have been susceptible to QB scrambles, allowing the second-highest scramble rate (9.51%) this season, per SumerSports. Wentz should be able to escape the pocket a few times and clear this line.
Thursday Night Football Anytime Touchdown Bets
Keenan Allen Anytime Touchdown (+155)
Allen is the team leader in targets inside the red zone (11), inside the 10 (five), and tied for most inside the five (two). The 33-year-old is second on the team behind Quentin Johnston for the team lead in touchdowns this season, but Allen and Herbert have built a special connection and feel through the years.
The veteran wideout caught a touchdown in the first meetup back in 2020 against Brian Flores' Dolphins, and then exploded for a career high in targets (20), receptions (18), and yards (215) against Flores and the Vikings in 2023. A repeat of that performance is unlikely, but he should have a solid chance at finding paydirt on Thursday night.
More Picks and Analysis
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