Vikings vs. Bengals Player Props: Top NFL Picks for Mixon, Hockenson, and Chase
What kind of performances can we expect on Saturday from Joe Mixon, T.J. Hockenson, and Ja’Marr Chase? Follow along as our NFL betting expert, Nick Galaida, breaks down three of his favorite NFL prop bets and DFS pick’em predictions for today – Saturday, December 16, 2023. Get all of Nick’s picks, including more football props, at ScoresandOdds.
NFL fans will be treated to a 3-game Saturday slate in Week 15, beginning with a matchup between the Minnesota Vikings and Cincinnati Bengals at 1:00 p.m. ET. Entering play, both teams are firmly alive in the Wild Card race in their respective conference, but both teams will be playing with a backup quarterback this afternoon.
If looking to wager on the player prop market instead of a side or total in this game, we have three prop leans for this matchup between the Vikings and Bengals!
Don’t live in a state with sports betting this football season? Use the PrizePicks referral code GRINDERS for $100 sign-up bonus for NFL Fantasy Pick’em.
Vikings vs. Bengals NFL Player Props for Saturday, December 16
- Joe Mixon u55.5 Rushing Yards
- T.J. Hockenson 50+ Receiving Yards
- Ja’Marr Chase u65.5 Receiving Yards
Joe Mixon u55.5 Rushing Yards (-113), FanDuel
Joe Mixon has easily cleared this market number in each of his last two games, but he still only averaged 3.6 yards per carry in Week 13 against the Jaguars and 3.8 yards per carry in Week 14 against the Colts. The Vikings are a tougher matchup on the ground than both of those teams, making it far from a certainty that we see Mixon replicate his rushing yardage totals from the last two weeks again on Saturday.
According to NFL Next Gen Stats, Mixon ranks 25th out of 44 qualified running backs this year in rushing yards over expected (RYOE) per attempt. Chase Brown has seen his role expand each of the last two weeks as part of the Cincinnati backfield, and it wouldn’t be surprising to see him continue earning more snaps down the final stretch of the regular season. Mixon is likely to have a difficult time on the ground on Saturday, making the under for his rushing yards an appealing look.
T.J. Hockenson 50+ Receiving Yards (-138), FanDuel
Since their bye week, the Bengals have been repeatedly victimized by opposing tight ends – allowing 149 receiving yards to George Kittle, 81 receiving yards to Dalton Kincaid, 71 receiving yards to Dalton Schultz, 120 receiving yards to Pat Freiermuth, and 82 receiving yards to Evan Engram. The tight end to go under their market number for receiving yards in the last six weeks against the Bengals was Mark Andrews, who was injured on the first possession of the game. Hockenson has totaled at least 50 receiving yards in nine consecutive games. He should have every chance to get the job done again on Saturday in an extremely favorable matchup.
Ja’Marr Chase u65.5 Receiving Yards (-105), bet365
Since Jake Browning took over the reins as the starting quarterback for the Bengals, the statistical output for Ja’Marr Chase has been wildly inconsistent. Chase had only 12 receiving yards against the Ravens in Week 11, with Joe Burrow exiting that contest early due to injury. Chase rebounded for 81 receiving yards in Week 12 and 149 receiving yards in Week 13, but he was targeted only four times last weekend against the Colts, resulting in only 29 receiving yards. Chase has dealt with a multitude of injuries this fall, and the loss of his franchise quarterback has only further complicated matters for the star wideout. This is a seemingly low market number for Chase on Saturday, but the under makes sense here against a defense that leads the NFL in dropback EPA/play and ranks 2nd in dropback success rate since Week 6.
Check out more DFS sites with Fantasy Football pick’em and check out our Betr Picks promo code.
Image Credit: Getty Images