The Pittsburgh Steelers have never finished below .500 during Mike Tomlin’s tenure as the team’s head coach, and ESPN gambling analyst Anita Marks doesn’t expect 2023 to be the first year. She’s a fan of taking the Pittsburgh Steelers’ win total over, which sits at 8.5 currently on most sportsbooks.
“I like the Pittsburgh Steelers win total over, and you could find it around 8.5 in some places,” Marks said. “Kenny Pickett’s second year, coming in wasn’t half bad in Year 1 as a top-15 passer rating in the NFL. On top of that, they have the 11th easiest schedule heading into 2023. Defensively, T.J. Watt, not dealing with that pectoral muscle tear, and they did quite well in the draft, getting Joey Porter Jr. to help them on the defensive side of the ball, improving their offensive line with Broderick Jones and getting the freak tight end in Darnell Washington.”
The Steelers got better this offseason, as Marks laid out, with improvements to the offensive not just through the draft but in free agency as well with the addition of Isaac Seumalo. They also improved their receiving corps with Allen Robinson II, and while it’s hard to definitively say the schedule will be easier, it certainly looks that way on paper.
It’s easy to see why the 8.5 line looks like a solid bet. The Steelers won 9 games last year and got better, so it would make sense they can do it again. No bet is a sure thing, and if Pickett or another key piece goes down, Pittsburgh could struggle to get to nine wins. But as of right now, I would agree with Marks that it certainly looks like a good bet to take.
The Steelers have the talent to win 10+ games this season, and if you believe they will there’s some solid value to be had as well. On the FanDuel Sportsbook, you can bet the Steelers to win exactly 10 games at +600, or exactly 11 games at +700. Predicting exact wins is obviously not easy hence why the odds are long, but if the Steelers are expected to be better than their 9-8 finish last year, those could be good bets to take.
There’s a lot to be optimistic about with this year’s Steelers team. Frankly, it would be a little bit disappointing if they weren’t a playoff team and I wouldn’t be surprised if this was the team to win the franchise’s first playoff game since 2017, when the Steelers beat the Kansas City Chiefs in the divisional round. With training camp coming up at the end of the month, the season feels right around the corner, and I couldn’t be more excited.
