The Atlanta Falcons and Pittsburgh Steelers are ready to face off on the grass at Heinz Field. This early afternoon game is scheduled to get going at 1:00 p.m. ET and fans can catch the action by tuning in to FOX.
Atlanta Falcons vs. Pittsburgh Steelers Betting Preview
In this Sunday matchup, Pittsburgh is getting picked as the favorite and the team’s currently giving up 3 points. The Falcons are also receiving +130 moneyline odds while the Steelers are -150. There will likely be some good live betting opportunities for this game, and oddsmakers have determined the over/under (O/U) to be 57 points.
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Early action has swayed in favor of both the Steelers and the over. The line initially opened at -2 while the O/U was originally only 55.5.
The Falcons are down 2.9 units so far and 1-3 against the spread (ATS). The team has posted an O/U record of 3-1. The Steelers are down 2.2 units this season. The team is 1-3 ATS and also owns an O/U record of 3-1.
The Falcons are 1-3 straight up (SU) in 2018 while the Steelers are 1-2-1 SU.
The Falcons look to get back in stride after a 37-36 loss to Cincinnati last week where Matt Ryan completed 29-of-39 passes for 419 yards and three touchdowns. Tevin Coleman (51 rushing yards on 14 attempts) led the running attack in the loss while Julio Jones (nine receptions, 173 yards) and Mohamed Sanu (six catches, 111 yards) shared the receiving duties.
Pittsburgh just dropped a 26-14 game to Baltimore last week. The team’s defensive secondary let the Ravens air it out for 363 yards and two touchdowns. John Brown had a good outing in the win for Baltimore, accounting for 116 yards on three catches. For Pittsburgh, Ben Roethlisberger completed 27-of-47 passes for 274 yards, one touchdown and one interception. James Conner (19 yards on nine rush attempts) handled the ground game in the defeat while Switzer (seven receptions, 32 yards) and Vance McDonald (five catches, 62 yards) led the pass-catching corps.
Atlanta has run the ball on 39.8 percent of its offensive possessions this year while Pittsburgh has a rush percentage of 30.3 percent. The Falcons have produced 96 rush yards per game and have four touchdowns via handoffs this year. The Steelers are averaging 72 rush yards per game and have four total rushing TDs.
It appears that the Steelers ought to have the more disruptive lines up front. Their offensive line has given up only nine sacks while the D-line has registered 13 sacks. The Falcons offensive line has allowed 10 sacks and their defense has got to opposing signal-callerss on just eight occasions.
The Falcons offense has averaged 329 yards in the air overall and has 10 passing TDs so far. The Steelers have produced 354 pass yards per game and have eight total pass scores.
Atlanta should hold the upper hand when it comes to limiting the pass. The team’s let opponents rush for an average of 119 yards and throw for 300 yards per game. The Pittsburgh defense has allowed 324.3 yards per game to opposing passers and 115.8 yards per game on the ground. The Falcons are allowing an adjusted net yards per pass attempt (ANY/A) of only 6.63 to opposing QBs, while the Steelers have given up a 7.39 ANY/A.
Offensively, Ryan has amassed 942 passing yards this year, and has connected on 73-of-110 attempts with five passing scores and two interceptions. He’s got a 7.78 adjusted net yards per pass attempt overall, although that number is 11.53 over the past two games.
Look for Ryan to distribute the football early and often in this one. Julio Jones (148 receiving yards), Calvin Ridley (118 yards, three TDs) and Mohamed Sanu (148 yards) have all been heavily involved recently, getting 18, 14 and 16 targets over the past two games, respectively.
Ben Roethlisberger has connected on 89-of-148 passes for 1,061 yards, five TDs and four INTs for Pittsburgh. His ANY/A stands at 6.10 for the year and 6.63 across his last two games.
We expect the Pittsburgh offense to mix it up in this one. JuJu Smith-Schuster, Vance McDonald and James Conner have combined to account for 489 total yards as a trio over the last two games.
Betting Prediction: Falcons at Steelers
SU Winner – Steelers, ATS Winner – Steelers, O/U – Over
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Notes
Betting Trends
Atlanta has produced 3.97435897435897 yards per carry across its past three contests and 3.0 over its last two.
Pittsburgh has averaged 2.8 yards per carry over its last three outings and 2.9 over its last two.
Pittsburgh has lost four fumbles this season while Atlanta has yet to let any get away.
Each team has produced four pass plays of 40 or more yards. The Falcons have have made 12 pass plays of 30+ yards while the Steelers have created eight such plays.
The Atlanta defense has allowed one pass play of 40 or more yards, while Pittsburgh has given up three such plays.
Both defenses have produced two rushing plays of 20 or more yards. The Atlanta offense has recorded nine running plays of 10+ yards while Pittsburgh has accounted for seven such plays.
Both defenses have allowed three rushing play of 20 or more yards. The Falcons have given up 16 running plays of 10+ yards while the Steelers have given up 14 such plays.
The Pittsburgh defense has sacked opposing quarterbacks 13 times this season. Atlanta has recorded eight sacks.
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