Heading into this international game, both the Vikings and Steelers are sitting on 2-1 records and have shown real glimpses of potential at points. The Vikings showed incredible resilience in bouncing back from losing JJ McCarthy to injury in Week Two by dismantling the Bengals 48-10 last Sunday, and will be coming into this full of confidence.

While I’ve been impressed by the Steelers this season and, in particular, Aaron Rodgers, who has rolled back the years at times, I am a little sceptical of their record. Their two wins have come against a 0-3 Jets team, which they only just beat in the opening week, and a 1-2 Patriots team that struggled hugely last week. They lost convincingly to their only good opponent, the Seahawks, and face a tougher task against the Vikings.

The final reason to back the Vikings is simple: favourites often win these international games. Since the first NFL game on international soil, we’ve seen the favourites win 73.12% of the time, with 41 victories from 15 matches.

It wasn’t long ago that Carson Wentz was on the scrapheap. He has only started two games in the past two seasons, acting as backup for both the Rams and Chiefs. Before that, he’d failed to build on the early potential shown at the Eagles and was ultimately moved on after five years.

Last week, he made his debut for the Vikings with JJ McCarthy sidelined through injury, threw two touchdown passes, and had a relatively modest 173 passing yards. At this point, we know what Wentz is. He’s a gunslinger. He takes risks, and he doesn’t protect the football. In 99 games, of which 95 were starts, he’s thrown 67 interceptions. Fortunately, we just need him to throw the ball, and he should do that, and has averaged 228 passing yards per game across his career.

To make things even more appealing, he now faces a Steelers’ defense who have given up 246.7 passing yards per game, the seventh most in the National Football League. Now in his second week as the starter, we’re likely to see the shackles loosened and Wentz get back to his old ways and trusting his cannon of an arm to get the job done. Smash the Over.

To wrap up this Bet Builder, we’re taking Jordan Mason to build on an excellent performance last week and get back into the end zone. With the other Vikings’ running back, Aaron Jones, injured, it has opened the door for Mason to get a workhorse role, and he delivered big time against the Bengals with 16 carries, 116 yards, and two touchdowns.

Mason is a bruiser. He’s big, he’s strong, and while being fairly quick, he isn’t truly elusive, but that doesn’t matter in this offense. He’ll get the opportunities to pound the rock, and with 15+ carries in two of his past three games, he’ll have a very good chance of getting another touchdown on the Emerald Isle.