Denver Broncos at Pittsburgh Steelers Odds & Game Pick (2020)
The 2020 NFL season is officially underway as Week 1 has come and gone without any major COVID-related hiccups. It will certainly take some getting used have limited to zero fans in attendance, but one thing that might remain post-COVID is the elimination of the preseason.
Despite having zero preseason, Week 1 games looked relatively sharp, and the age-old question of what quality we will get with no glorified scrimmages; has seemingly been put to rest.
With Week 2 lines now having been up for almost a week, let’s take a look at where the numbers stand with one matchup I have my eye on in the AFC
Odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook.
FanDuel Sportsbook: View our review and access special sports betting offers >>
Details
- Opening Lines: Steelers -5; O/U 44
- Current Line: Steelers -7.5
- O/U: 41.5
- Location: Heinz Field, Pittsburgh, PA
- Start Time: 1:00 pm ET
- Television: CBS
- Last Meeting: November 25, 2018 – Steelers 17, Broncos 24
View consensus picks from experts for the Broncos at Steelers >>
Overview
Steeler Nation could finally exhale Monday night after quarterback Ben Roethlisberger entered and left the field upright and healthy, throwing for 229 yards and three touchdowns along the way. In his first game back since elbow surgery sidelined him for essentially the entire 2019 season, Roethlisberger finished with 117.8 RTG and zero interceptions in the Steelers 26-16 win on Monday Night Football.
The win, however, wasn’t without a price. The Steelers will finish the season without starting offensive lineman Zach Banner, who suffered a season-ending knee injury, as well as injuries to two other linemen in Stefen Wisniewski and David DeCastro. While Wisniewski and DeCastro should be back soon, the loss of Banner leaves a big hole for a team also now potentially without James Conner.
For the Broncos and second-year head coach Vic Fangio, Monday night was certainly not the start they had hoped for. After failing to get much of anything going on offense throughout the night, losing the first down battle to the Titans by a margin of 26 to 19, they still had a chance on their final drive of the evening before Lock overthrew DeSean Hamilton for what would’ve been easy six.
That was following a complete mental meltdown from Fangio, who inexplicably didn’t use his available timeouts as Tennesee drove down the field to set up for the game-winning field goal
With Monday night’s loss (14-16), Denver was also bit by the injury bug, a much bigger one. In the defeat, the Bronco’s not only lost starting running back Phillip Lindsay but starting cornerback AJ Bouye, who is out indefinitely.
- The home team is 3-1-1 ATS in these two last five meetings
- The Steelers are 5-1 ATS in their last six September games
- The Over is 13-3 in the Broncos last 16 games following playing on Monday night
Prop Bet
Spread / Total Points Parlay 5: Steelers -5.5 & Under 49.5 (+115)
Taking a look at all of FanDuel’s alternate spread/total parlays, and I think this one is mispriced. Getting the Steelers near their opening number on the right side of seven, and teasing the total up nearly a touchdown, and I see two numbers that the Steelers should be able to take advantage of.
Bottom Line
Since opening up at -5, a flood of money came in on the Steelers following what was a very strong final three quarters on national television. While I do think the best number in this game is gone, I just can’t put my money on this Broncos team after the coaching snafu from Fangio on Monday. Just the kind of mistake that loses a locker room of guys who see incompetency for what it is.
Add in a Steelers defense that has only improved since being a top-five unit this season, and I see a 24-7 type game in Ben’s return to Heinz Field.
Pick: Steelers -7.5 & Under 41.5
FanDuel Sportsbook: View our review and access special sports betting offers >>
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TJ Perun is a featured writer at BettingPros. For more from TJ, check out his archive and follow him @JohnnyCovers.