By: Michael Stiffler, @Stiffeezy_ on Twitter
SteelerNation.com
For what seemed like an eternity, Pittsburgh Steelers football is back. Yes it was only a week, but the inconvenience of wondering are they playing or are they not was a nuisance. If you followed my picks from Week 3, you would have gone 2-1 (7-2 YTD) with the only loser being Steelers -3 1H. As always, lines are brought to you via FanDuel Sportsbook. *Lines may change when and wherever you do your betting.
Let’s get started!
Spread: Pittsburgh -7 (Opened at Pittsburgh -7)
The Philadelphia Eagles come to town sporting a mediocre 1-2-1 record. The Eagles have quite the injury bug on their hands offensively with offensive lineman Andre Dillard and Jason Peters, wide receiver Jalen Reagor, and tight end Dallas Goedert on injured reserve, but it gets worse. Wide receivers Alshon Jeffery and DeSean Jackson are both ruled out for Sunday's game leaving Carson Wentz to elevate those around him. Wentz has had a pretty tough year so far throwing 7 interceptions, 4 fumbles (only lost 1), and being sacked 14 times. That recipe does not bode well for him as the Steelers come into this game with 15 sacks (3rd in the NFL) while only playing 3 games this season.
On the other side of things the Eagles defense has played decently well this year but just hasn't been helped by their offense. They rank in the top 10 in yards allowed per game, but are allowing 26.8 points per game this season, mostly because of the short field the opposition has been gifted. The Steelers offense should have the advantage with their opportunistic defense, so Ben Roethlisberger and company need to capitalize on a short field. I think the Steelers will have a hold on this game start to finish, but the final score will appear closer than what the game actually was.
Stiffler’s Pick: Philadelphia +7 (Moderate Confidence)
Total: Over/Under 43.5 (Opened at 45)
With the amount of turnovers the Eagles offense has produced this season, I expect the Steelers to have great field position all day. There is no reason the Steelers cannot break 30 points after having off an extended amount of time to scout the Eagles. The big concern about the Steelers offense is the time off they had and how this will impact their rhythm. Roethlisberger was not pleased having the time off stating they got the "short end of the stick" and hopefully this did not hinder the growing comfort he was showing. In regards to the Eagles offense, I expect their points will come after the 2nd half when the Steelers will go into more of prevent defense.
Stiffler’s Pick: Over 43.5 (Low Confidence)
1st Half Spread: Pittsburgh -4.5
This will be the first game the Steelers will have fans in the stands at Heinz Field and I think this is going to bring an extra juice to the team. Like I stated above, the Steelers will have the advantage in this game given the Eagles injury situation. This should be the easiest bet of the game to hit. Expect the fans and the week off to have the Steelers coming out fired up and pissed off.
Stiffler’s Pick: Pittsburgh -4.5 (High Confidence)
Feel free to follow, fade, or criticize all picks. I wish you good fortune in your bets to come.
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