While the Pittsburgh Steelers are still curious underdogs to the New Orleans Saints this weekend, at least one analyst is picking Pittsburgh to pull off an on-paper upset. In his Week 10 picks, CBS’ Pete Prisco has Pittsburgh beating New Orleans 23-20. Explaining the pick, Prisco writes:
“The Saints are coming off a bad-looking loss to the Ravens. They struggled in all areas. The Steelers are coming off a bye. This could be a great chance for the Steelers to get the first victory for Kenny Pickett as a starter. Their defense leads the way.”
Solid, albeit simple, analysis. New Orleans has plenty working against them this weekend. They’re playing on the road in a short week after getting dominated by the Baltimore Ravens on Monday night. The Saints are also potentially dealing with several key injuries to the likes of WR Michael Thomas – on IR and will miss this weekend – and WR Jarvis Landry along with C Erik McCoy, DE Marcus Davenport, and LB Pete Werner.
While the Saints’ offense has held its own this season, they’re starting to break under the weight of their injuries and the limitations a 35-year old Andy Dalton brings them. Pittsburgh’s defense looks as good as it has in weeks with T.J. Watt’s expected return. He should officially be added to the roster Saturday afternoon while safety Damontae Kazee should be added by Thursday at 4 PM/EST.
Prisco isn’t the only one thinking the Steelers can get back in the win column. The NFL.com team prediction is pretty split between Saints and Steelers, six of the ten analysts picking Pittsburgh to win.
While Pittsburgh has a dozen problems this season, it’s still a mild surprise not to see them as minor home favorites. It’s certainly a favorable recipe for the Steelers to earn their third win of the season and get the second half of their season off on a positive note. In Week 12, the Steelers will play the Colts. A week later, they’ll travel to Atlanta to play the Falcons while they have dates with the struggling Las Vegas Raiders and Carolina Panthers later on in the year. All winnable games for Pittsburgh. But it all starts Sunday and Prisco’s assertion that the Steelers win is fair. Hopefully it’ll prove correct.
