The Pittsburgh Steelers ended a two-year streak of failing to surpass their season win total odds at online sportsbooks after grossly overachieving to log a 12-4 record and win the AFC North for the third time in the last five years. The key to the overall success for the Mike Tomlin coached squad came on the defensive side of the ball where it boasted the league’s No 3 ranked total and scoring defenses. The unit flat-out got after the quarterback logging a league-high 56 sacks and forced the second most turnovers in the game 27. But when it partook in a shootout with the Cleveland Browns in the wild card round, Ben Roethlisberger simply didn’t have enough bullets in the chamber to fend off their division rivals ultimately falling by a 48-37 final count as 5-point favorites. After being forced to carry the load the entirety of the regular season, the defense simply just ran out of gas when it mattered most. While upper management snagged themselves arguably the best running back in the draft, it remains to be seen how well Najee Harris excels in his rookie campaign with a wretched offensive line attempting to pave the way for him. The Steelers doing very little to shore up the inefficiencies along the front wall will cost them big time in 2021-22. Big Ben’s about to turn 40 for crying out loud! I’ve got Pittsburgh battling Cincinnati for the cellar of the division. Hence, I don’t foresee them overachieving once again to surpass their current win total which just so happens to be the lowest it’s been since the 2015-16 season.
Pittsburgh Steelers Season Win Total: 8.5 Under -117
To some, it might come as a surprise to see linemakers dropping an 8.5-game win total upon the Steelers after coming off a season in which it tallied the third most wins in the AFC. Attaching plus-money vig to the over will undoubtedly hook a few bites from the public. Don’t fall for the trap! The Ravens and Browns are now the class of the AFC North. Both squads are simply just constructed better overall, and they don’t have a near 40-year old quarterback playing on one leg with two shredded shoulders and elbows lead the offense. On top of that, both the Browns and Ravens have the pass rush to take advantage of what could go down in history as one of the worst rated offensive lines the Steelers have ever trotted onto the field. Pro Football focus just released their preseason rankings of all 32 offensive lines, and the Steelers clock in at No. 29! After numerous years of the front wall contributing to the recipe of the franchise’s overall success, it’s now a major detriment so bank on the situation in every possible way, shape and form!
NFL Regular Season Wins Odds at BookMaker
Pittsburgh Steelers Football Schedule
Week 1: Steelers at Bills, Sunday, September 12, 1 p.m. ET
Week 2: Raiders at Steelers, Sunday, September 19, 1 p.m. ET
Week 3: Bengals at Steelers, Sunday, September 26, 1 p.m. ET
Week 4: Steelers at Packers, Sunday, October 3, 4:25 p.m. ET
Week 5: Broncos at Steelers, Sunday, October 10, 1 p.m. ET
Week 6: Seahawks at Steelers, Sunday, October 17, 8:20 p.m. ET, NBC
Week 7: Bye Week
Week 8: Steelers at Browns, Sunday, October 31, 1 p.m. ET
Week 9: Bears at Steelers, Monday, November 8, 8:15 p.m. ET, ESPN
Week 10: Lions at Steelers, Sunday, November 14, 1 p.m. ET
Week 11: Steelers at Chargers, Sunday, November 21, 8:20 p.m. ET, NBC
Week 12: Steelers at Bengals, Sunday, November 28, 1 p.m. ET
Week 13: Steelers at Ravens, Sunday, December 5, 4:25 p.m. ET
Week 14: Steelers at Vikings, Thursday, December 9, 8:20 p.m. ET, NFL Network
Week 15: Titans at Steelers, Sunday, December 19, 1 p.m. ET
Week 16: Steelers at Chiefs, Sunday, December 26, 4:25 p.m. ET
Week 17: Browns at Steelers, Monday, January 3, 8:15 p.m. ET, ESPN
Week 18: Steelers at Ravens, Sunday, January 9, 1 p.m. ET
Pittsburgh Steelers Season Win Total Analysis
After winning the division a season ago, the Steelers +424 find themselves comfortably behind the Ravens +125 and Browns +119 on the futures odds to win the AFC North with the Bengals +2000 lagging dramatically behind. While you can make an argument for either Baltimore or Cleveland ultimately taking home bragging rights, you can also do the same about Cincinnati and Pittsburgh bringing up the rear. While that may seem crazy to fathom with the offensive firepower the Steelers currently possesses at wide receiver in the forms of JuJu Smith-Schuster, Diontae Johnson, Chase Claypool and the rookie insertions of Harris and Pat Freiermuth at running back and tight end respectively, the straw that’s ultimately going to stir the offensive drink comes up front where the unit is severely lacking.
While adjustments were made to deal with the attrition and retirements, they simply weren’t good enough in my eyes or the folks who study offensive lines for a living. That in and of itself is enough to prevent me from entertaining the thought of Pittsburgh once again competing for division, conference and Super Bowl titles. Along with competing in one of the toughest divisions in the game, Pittsburgh will be forced to run up against the NFC North and AFC West and go at the Buffalo Bills, Seattle Seahawks and Tennessee Titans in standalone games. All three of those teams are expected to make a run at the playoffs, and matchups with the Chiefs, Chargers and Packers won’t be walks in the park either. If they manage to at the very least split those six games, they’ll still need six more wins in the others to surpass the current impost. I don’t envision that happening. And dare I say it, it won’t be close!
Pittsburgh Steelers Season Win Total Prediction: Under 8.5
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