The Pittsburgh Steelers (4-4) host the Oakland Raiders (4-3) at Heinz Field this week. The NFL’s fourth-leading receiver, Antonio Brown (718 yards, 3 TDs), will be on display in this contest. It will begin Sunday, Nov 8 at 1:00 p.m. ET and can be seen on CBS.
Pittsburgh dropped one to the Bengals 16-10 last week. Heath Miller had a big game in the loss, registering 10 catches for 105 yards. Oakland is hoping for a similar result as last week when they beat the Jets 34-20. Derek Carr had an outstanding performance throwing the ball for the Raiders, completing 23 of 36 passes for 333 yards and four TDs. Latavius Murray also had a big game with 113 yards on 20 attempts.
Pittsburgh is a five-point favorite in this game and the Over/Under (O/U) is set at 48 points.
The Steelers enter the game with records of 4-4 Straight Up (SU) and 4-2-2 Against The Spread (ATS) this season. In the past five games, Pittsburgh is 2-3 SU and 2-2-1 ATS. The Steelers are averaging 145.2 rushing yards over their last five games, higher than their season average of 125.8. Oakland will want to steer clear of penalties this week against the Steelers. The Raiders are one of the most penalized teams in the league with 9.1 flags per game.
Moving to the road team, the Raiders have a record of 4-3 for both ATS and SU. In the previous five games, Oakland has a record of 3-2 for both SU and ATS. The Steelers have been mediocre at stopping their opponents’ passing game. The Raiders will look to bother a pass defense that ranks 26th in the NFL with 269.5 passing yards allowed per game. The Oakland run defense has given teams issues during the past five games. During that time, opponents have gained an average of 68.8 rushing yards against this terrorizing bunch. Special teams is an area of weakness at home for the Steelers, giving up 101.8 return yards per home game.
Predictions: SU Winner – Oak, ATS Winner – Oak, O/U – Under
Notes
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Pittsburgh’s last 5 games.
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Pittsburgh’s last 7 games at home.
Pittsburgh is 13-6 SU in its last 19 games at home.
Pittsburgh is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games when playing Oakland.
Pittsburgh is 1-5 ATS in its last 6 games when playing Oakland.
Pittsburgh is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games when playing at home against Oakland.
Oakland is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games when playing on the road against Pittsburgh.
Oakland is 4-1 SU when leading at the start of the fourth quarter this season. Pittsburgh is 4-2 SU when carrying a lead into the fourth quarter.
Remarkably, Pittsburgh is winless (0-3) SU in games where it wins the turnover battle, yet 3-1 SU when losing the turnover battle.
The Pittsburgh passing attack is ranked 21st in the league, while the Oakland pass defense is only ranked 31st. The Raiders’ passing game is ranked 10th, compared to the 26th-ranked pass defense of the Steelers.
Oakland has allowed 23.7 points per game on the road, which is ranked 19th in the league. Pittsburgh has put up 24.5 points per game at home (ranked 15th overall).
