Pittsburgh Steelers vs. San Francisco 49ers NFL Sports Betting Guide
The Mason Rudolph era is underway for the Pittsburgh Steelers as they travel to the west coast to face the San Francisco 49ers this Sunday. Rudolph completed 12-of-19 pass attempts for 112 yards and two touchdowns with an interception when he replaced Ben Roethlisberger in last week’s 28-26 loss to the Seattle Seahawks. While the timing isn’t ideal, Pittsburgh has no choice other than to see what they have in Rudolph. Both him and the Steelers are in a tight spot in San Francisco against a quality defense and an improved team.
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Details
- Opening Line: Pittsburgh -1
- Current Line: San Francisco -6.5
- Over/Under: 46.5
- Location: Levi’s Stadium, Santa Clara, California
- Start Time: 4:25 PM ET
- Last Meeting: 49ers 20, Steelers 3 (12/19/11)
View consensus picks from 100+ experts for the Steelers at 49ers >>
Overview
Mike Tomlin has never won a game played in the Western Time Zone with Ben Roethlisberger as his starting quarterback. Now he faces the tough test of trying to accomplish that feat against a good 49ers’ team with a young quarterback that has never started before. It doesn’t help that Pittsburgh has struggled on both sides of the football entering this contest. However, the defense should get a boost with the mid-week addition of defensive back Minkah Fitzpatrick.
Meanwhile, San Francisco is coming off back-to-back wins under head coach Kyle Shanahan to open the season. Jimmy Garoppolo threw for 297 yards and three touchdowns in their 41-17 Week 2 win over the Cincinnati Bengals. Running backs Matt Breida and Raheem Mostert stepped up big time in order to take care of business both on the ground and through the air. While the offense has looked good early on, perhaps the biggest surprise is how good the 49ers’ defense has been. Nick Bosa leads all edge rushers with 10 pressures, Kwon Alexander has been among the NFL’s top defenders, and Ahkello Witherspoon has been excellent so far.
San Francisco has held its first two opponents to an average of 17.0 points per game. They get another softy here as the Steelers are traveling west and still finding their way with Rudolph.
Trends
- Pittsburgh is 1-3-1 ATS in last 5 road games
- Steelers are 1-5 SU & ATS in last 6 west coast games
- 49ers are 4-1 ATS in last 5 games vs. AFC
- Over is 4-0 in San Francisco’s last 4 Week 3 games
- 49ers are 7-16 ATS in their last 23 home games overall
Bottom Line
The fact that Pittsburgh was initially a 1.5-point favorite on the road in the Western Time Zone following a 0-2 start is surprising to say the least. Ben Roethlisberger’s injury moved the line eight points in the other direction, although keep in mind both teams’ performance from last week impacted that initial lookahead line too.
The Steelers were struggling with Big Ben. They won’t all of the sudden have answers without him. They’ll put forth a gutsy defensive effort but the 49ers are really confident right now. They’ll win, although Pittsburgh might make this tight.
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Dave Golokhov is a featured writer at BettingPros. For more from Dave, check out his archive and follow him @davegolokhov.