The Pittsburgh Steelers (+6) are heading southwest to take on the New Orleans Saints at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. CBS has the TV rights and the game’s scheduled to kick off at 4:25 p.m. ET.
Pittsburgh Steelers +6 +190 ov 57½
New Orleans Saints -6 -230 un 57½
Odds Provided by BetDSI.eu
In this Sunday game, New Orleans is tabbed as the favorite and the team’s currently giving up 6 points. The Steelers are also receiving +190 moneyline odds while the Saints are -230. Vegas has set the over/under (O/U) at 57.5 points. Multiple solid live betting opportunities may present themselves during the game.
Sharp bettors are hammering the Steelers. The line opened at -7 and the game’s total has not moved after being set initially at 57.5.
The Steelers are 7-6-1 against the spread (ATS) and are down 2.6 units so far in 2018. The team’s posted an Over-Under record of 7-7. The Saints have been a nice surprise for moneyline bettors this season, gaining 4.0 units. They’re 10-3 ATS and own an O/U record of 5-8.
The Steelers are 8-5-1 straight up (SU) in 2018 while the Saints are 12-2 SU.
The Steelers are coming off a 17-10 victory over New England last week where their secondary let the Patriots air it out for 279 yards. Julian Edelman had a productive day for the Patriots in that one with 90 yards on seven catches. On the offensive side, Ben Roethlisberger completed 22-of-34 passes for 235 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. Jaylen Samuels (142 rushing yards on 19 attempts) provided the ground attack in the win while Antonio Brown (four receptions, 49 yards, one TD) and JuJu Smith-Schuster (four catches, 40 yards) handled the receiving duties.
New Orleans is coming off of a 12-9 win over Carolina in Week 15. The team’s let the Panthers tally 181 yards through the air and 98 more on the ground. Christian McCaffrey was a bright spot in the loss, recording 53 rushing yards on 15 attempts, along with 67 yards on eight catches for Carolina. For New Orleans, Drew Brees completed 23-of-35 passes for 203 yards and one interception. Alvin Kamara carved up the opposing defense in the win. Along with 67 yards on 14 rush attempts (and one TD), Kamara also reeled in seven catches for 36 yards.
Pittsburgh has run the ball on 34.1 percent of its offensive possessions this year while New Orleans has an overall rush percentage of 48.2 percent. The Steelers have produced 94 rush yards/game and have 16 touchdowns via handoffs this year. The Saints are totaling 127 rush yards per game and have 22 total rushing TDs.
The Steelers offense has logged 322 yards/game through the air overall and has 31 passing scores so far. The Saints have recorded 266 pass yards per outing and also have 31 total pass TDs.
Pittsburgh should have an advantage when it comes to limiting the pass. The team has allowed opponents to run for an average of 97 yards and throw for 259 yards per game. The New Orleans defense has allowed 283.9 yards per game to opposing passers and 79.1 yards per game to opposing runners. Both teams allow similar adjusted net yards per pass attempt (ANY/A) to opponents, as the Steelers have given up an ANY/A of 6.42 to opposing QBs, while the Saints are yielding an ANY/A of 6.76.
Passing-wise, Roethlisberger has already put up 4,180 yards this year. He’s completed 66 percent of his 551 attempts with 28 scores through the air and 15 interceptions. He’s got a 6.89 adjusted net yards per pass attempt, including 7.33 over the last two outings.
In the other locker room, Drew Brees has completed 313-of-419 passes for 3,465 yards, 30 TDs and four INTs. Brees’ ANY/A stands at 8.73 for the year and 4.62 over his last two games.
RELATED: Week 16 NFL Betting Odds and Predictions
NFL Prediction: Steelers vs. Saints
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Notes
Team Betting Trends
The Pittsburgh defense has sacked opposing quarterbacks 46 times this year. New Orleans has registered 45 sacks.
The New Orleans offense has lost nine fumbles in 2018 while the Pittsburgh offense has lost seven.
The Steelers offense has produced 12 pass plays of 40 yards or more, while the Saints have put up four such plays.
The Pittsburgh defense has allowed six pass plays of 40 or more yards, while New Orleans has given up 12 such plays.
The Pittsburgh offense has created 10 rushing plays of 20 or more yards, while New Orleans has created six such runs.
The Steelers defense has allowed eight rushing plays of 20 or more yards, while the Saints have given up six such runs.
New Orleans has won 13 of its last 14 games SU, with a -3-point defeat to Dallas on November 29th accounting for the lone loss over that span.
As a team, Pittsburgh has averaged 4.3 yards per carry across its last three games and 4.5 over its last two.
New Orleans has averaged 4.0 yards per carry over its last three outings and 4.1 over its past two.
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