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 14 Thursday night game against the New England Patriots.
THOSE PICKING THE STEELERS
Vinnie Iyer/Sporting News: Steelers (20-10)
Dave Bryan/Steelers Depot: Steelers (20-16)
Pete Prisco/CBS Sports: Steelers (23-6)
Daniel Jeremiah/NFL Network: Steelers (13-10)
Alex Kozora/Steelers Depot: Steelers (17-14 OT)
Colleen Wolfe/NFL Network: Steelers (14-10)
Safid Deen/USA Today: Steelers (17-6)
Maurice Jones-Drew/NFL Network: Steelers (17-3)
THOSE PICKING THE PATRIOTS
None.
TOTALS
Those Picking The Steelers: 8
Those Picking The Patriots: 0
Quick Notes
– Another clean sweep for the Steelers. It makes two straight weeks every major media prediction I could find went the Steelers’ way. Of course, everyone has egg on their face (myself included, so much for my 30-20 Steelers prediction) for picking against the Arizona Cardinals last week. I’d feel more comfortable if someone took the Patriots.
– Because this is a Thursday game, we have a shorter list of names than usual since many predictions don’t drop until later Thursday or Friday.
– The over/under for this game, per VSIN, sits at 30, with the Steelers six-point favorites. Per Pro Football Reference/Stathead, the last game that had an over under this low was between the Buffalo Bills and Miami Dolphins in 2004, which also had a 30 point total line. The over hit, the Bills winning 20-13.
In fact, since 1979, of the seven games with an over/under of 30 or less, only once did the under hit. That was 1991 between the New Orleans Saints and Philadelphia Eagles, a 13-6 Saints win.
– Of healthy Patriots players in this game, their “leading” receiver is TE Hunter Henry, who has 32 receptions, 313 yards, and three touchdowns. No other New England player playing in this game has more than 25 receptions, 264 yards, or one touchdown.
– Pittsburgh has run the ball for at least 130 yards in five straight games, the first time they’ve done that since 2001, when they went seven consecutive contests (in a single season). But if there’s one thing the Patriots do well, it’s stop the run. They haven’t given up 130 yards in a game since Week 5. Last week, they held the Chargers to 29 yards rushing.
– If the Patriots lose this game, it’ll mark their first six-game losing streak since 1995, when they lost seven in a row to bottom out at 1-11, though they won their final four games to finish the year 5-11.
