A weekly article we’ll post that gives a brief overview of how the national media views the Pittsburgh Steelers’ odds. Just a skinny summary of notable names who are picking for or against Pittsburgh. We’ll see who gets it right most often. If they offer a score prediction, we’ll include that, too. When applicable, I’ll also toss in the predictions from Dave Bryan and myself, just to see how we stack up.
Today, predictions for the team’s Week Eight game against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
THOSE PICKING THE STEELERS
Colleen Wolfe/NFL Network: Steelers (23-21)
Nate Davis/USA Today: Steelers (23-20)
Pat McAfee/Pat McAfee Show: Steelers
Eric Edholm/NFL Network: Steelers (20-19)
A.J. Hawk/Pat McAfee Show: Steelers
THOSE PICKING THE JAGUARS
Daniel Jeremiah/NFL Network: Jaguars (23-21)
Dave Bryan/Steelers Depot: Jaguars (24-20)
Mike Florio/Pro Football Talk: Jaguars (24-13)
Pete Prisco/CBS Sports: Jaguars (24-20)
Alex Kozora/Steelers Depot: Jaguars (23-20)
Vinnie Iyer/The Sporting News: Jaguars (24-20)
Maurice Jones-Drew/NFL Network: Jaguars (26-20)
Chris Simms/Pro Football Talk: Jaguars (28-20)
Totals
Those Picking The Steelers: 5
Those Picking The Jaguars: 8
Quick Notes
– Incredibly, six of the picks against the Steelers have Pittsburgh scoring exactly 20 points. There are three 24-20 predictions alone.
– This will be the first NFL game between QBs Trevor Lawrence and Kenny Pickett but the third career matchup between the two. Lawrence’s Tigers and Pickett’s Panthers squared off twice in college with Clemson winning both those games. In 2018, Lawrence blew out Pickett’s squad with a 42-10 victory. It was the worst game of Pickett’s career, going 4-for-16 for just eight yards and an interception. The 2020 matchup saw a better line for Pickett but a similar outcome, Clemson winning easily 52-17. Across those two games, Lawrence threw four touchdowns and zero interceptions.
– Pittsburgh and Jacksonville both have a plus-6 turnover differential, a strong number, but they have come about it in slightly different ways. The Jaguars’ offense has turned the ball over a fair bit, 10 times to the Steelers’ six, but Jacksonville also leads the NFL with 16 takeaways. Pittsburgh has 12 of them.
– Jacksonville has scored 30-plus points in each of the last two weeks, both victories. Pittsburgh hasn’t accomplished such a feat since Weeks Five and Six of the 2020 season, the only time they Steelers have done it over the last six seasons, 2018-23.
– If the Jaguars win this week, they’ll move to 6-2 on the season, their best record through their first eight games since 1999, when their franchise was only five years old. That year, they started 7-1 through their first eight games en route to a 14-2 finish.
– In the Steelers’ two losses, they have been defeated by an average of 23.5 points. In their four wins, they’ve been victorious by an average of 5.8 points. Win close, lose badly. Those have been the only scenarios through six games.
