Las Vegas Raiders vs. Pittsburgh Steelers Betting Preview
A tale of the comeback kids in this Week 2 matchup, the Raiders had to come from behind on Monday Night Football to beat the Baltimore Ravens in overtime. The Steelers got off to a slow start and had to come back from an early 10 point lead to defeat Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills.
Can the Raiders Offense Play at That Level All Year?
The Las Vegas Raiders were able to come away with a Week 1 victory, but it was less than easy. Baltimore jumped out to a 14-0 lead in the second quarter before the Raiders could get on the board. The game ended up going to overtime, where Derek Carr would throw a 31-yard pass to Zay Jones for the win.
The Raiders offense took a while to get going, but Carr got in a groove and looked good. He went 34 for 56 for 435 yards and two touchdowns. His lone interception was a crazy ricochet through his receiver’s hands that hit the opponent’s helmet and bounced straight up. It also did not come until overtime.
The Raiders’ defense will look to improve on their defense against the run. Giving up almost 200 yards rushing was not what they were hoping for. However, they were going up against one of the more elusive quarterbacks in all of football in Lamar Jackson. Heading into Week 2 they will not have much of an issue as Roethlisberger is not nearly as mobile.
Pittsburgh Needs a Better Start
The first half of football was rather miserable for the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Steelers could not get into the scoring column until the third quarter when they could get two field goals. The Steelers dominated the fourth quarter and were able to score 17 points in that 15 minutes alone to take the victory.
The team did not have any offensive standouts but an overall solid team effort. Najee Harris, rookie running back, ran the ball well, accumulating 45 yards on only 15 touches. He did have a few targets out of the backfield but was only able to pull in one catch. JuJu Smith-Schuster led the team with 52 yards receiving.
The Steelers’ defense was the talk of the game. Only allowing a single touchdown in the second quarter, they seemed to make big plays when the team needed them the most. TJ Watt, fresh off a massive contract extension, played an excellent game for the Steelers. He recorded two sacks and was involved in three other tackles throughout the game.
The Picks
The Pittsburgh Steelers are currently -5½ with the points total at 47.
The Raiders will go on the road for the first time this season. In 2020, the Raiders were 4-4 against the spread on the road. Of those eight games, they were 2-1 on the road when they were the underdog.
This will be Pittsburgh’s home opener for 2021. They were 5-3 in 2020 against the spread during home games. In the eight home games, they also covered the over four times.
Take the Steelers -5½ and over 47 points.
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