NFL Week 3 Thursday Night Football Same Game Parlay Predictions (Steelers vs. Browns)

The first two Thursday Night Football matchups have featured four potential explosive offenses. While Week 1 was a blowout, last week's matchup between the Los Angeles Chargers and Kansas City Chiefs was a tight contest.

Unfortunately, tonight's matchup is far less appealing. The Pittsburgh Steelers head to Cleveland to take on the Browns. Hopefully, being an AFC North divisional matchup, the game doesn't turn into a boring blowout.

Let's look at the three-leg and four-leg same-game parlay bettors should consider making.

All betting lines and odds are courtesy of DraftKings

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Nick Chubb Over 74.5 Rushing Yards (-160)

Chubb is one of the best pure runners in the NFL. Despite consistently seeing a stacked box, the veteran running back has averaged 5.3 yards per rushing attempt in his career. Furthermore, he has averaged at least 88.9 rushing yards per game every year since his rookie season. More importantly, Chubb is second in the NFL with 228 rushing yards over the first two weeks of the year, totaling at least 87 yards in both games.

Meanwhile, the Steelers have struggled to stop the run this season. They have surrendered at least 86 rushing yards to running backs in both games, including 118 yards last week to the duo of Damien Harris and Rhamondre Stevenson. Furthermore, even when the Steelers’ run defense was firing on all cylinders, they struggled to slow down Chubb. The veteran running back has averaged 75.7 rushing yards per game over the past three matchups against the Steelers. With a limited passing attack, the Browns will heavily lean on their elite running back tonight.

Diontae Johnson 6+ Receptions (-135)

While the Pittsburgh passing attack has gotten off to a rocky start this season, Johnson remains one of the more underrated wide receivers in the NFL. The fourth-year veteran averaged 6.7 receptions per game last year after averaging 5.9 per game in his second season. This year, he has 13 receptions over the first two games, pulling in seven in Week 1 and six last week. More importantly, Johnson has 22 targets this season (a 31% target share), which is 10 more targets than any other wide receiver on the team.

On paper, the Browns have a talented defense. In the secondary, they are led by cornerback Denzel Ward. However, the Browns have struggled to slow down wide receivers this season. Last week they surrendered eight receptions for 102 yards to Garrett Wilson with Joe Flacco under center. Furthermore, Johnson had at least six receptions and 13 targets in both matchups against the Browns last season. The best way for Pittsburgh to win this game is to target No. 18 early and often.

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Amari Cooper Over 54.5 Receiving Yards (+100)

In Week 1, Cooper struggled against the Carolina Panthers. He had only three receptions for 17 yards in their 26-24 win. However, he had six targets in the game while playing 83% of the snaps and ran 27 routes. While the numbers on the surface weren't ideal, a deeper look suggested a rebound in Week 2, and that's what happened. Cooper led the team with 10 targets on his 19 routes ran last week. More importantly, Cooper went from averaging 5.7 yards per reception in Week 1 to 11.2 yards per reception in Week 2.

After totaling only 17 yards in Week 1, Cooper had 101 against the New York Jets. Meanwhile, the Steelers have struggled to slow down No. 1 wide receivers this season. In Week 1, Ja'Marr Chase ripped their defense apart for 129 receiving yards. Then, they surrendered 110 receiving yards to Nelson Agholor and 95 to Jakobi Meyers last week. While Donovan Peoples-Jones had 11 targets in Week 1, he had only one last week as Cooper had a productive performance. With a short turnaround, the Browns should make Cooper the focal point of their passing attack gameplan this week.

Three-Leg Parlay Odds: +400

However, is it really a parlay if you only have three legs? Debatable, so let's add one more leg to the parlay and push our luck!

Pittsburgh Steelers +4.5 (-110)

Many expected the Steelers to regress this year after making the playoffs last season. Despite being seven-point underdogs against the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 1, the Steelers forced five turnovers and won 23-20 in overtime. While they lost last week despite being three-point favorites, Pittsburgh has kept both games close this season.

Meanwhile, the Browns barely pulled off a Week 1 win over the Panthers. Then they blew a 13-point lead with two minutes left in the game to Flacco and the Jets last week, losing 31-30. While they don't have Deshaun Watson, the Browns were 6.5-point favorites at home against the Jets.

The AFC North divisional matchups are typically close. Both the Steelers and Browns lack explosive offensives. However, they do have talented defenses, especially in the front seven. The Steelers could win this game outright or end up losing. However, there is little chance they lose by more than four points.

Four-Leg Parlay Odds: +1000

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