It’s rare that a 10-3 team is nearly a touchdown underdog in Week 15, but that’s the case with the Pittsburgh Steelers ahead of their matchup with the Philadelphia Eagles next Sunday. The Steelers are currently consensus 5.5-point underdogs for their in-state matchup at Lincoln Financial Field.
The Eagles are coming off a narrow 22-16 win at home over the Carolina Panthers, who came in at 3-9, while the Steelers beat the Cleveland Browns 27-14 to drop the Browns to 3-10 and eliminate them from playoff contention.
While DraftKings and Caesars have the Steelers as 4.5-point underdogs, FanDuel has them as 5.5-point underdogs and per VSiN, the consensus line is Philadelphia -5.5.
The Eagles are one of the NFL’s hottest teams right now, and with them coming into the game at 11-2, it’ll be a matchup between two heavyweights. Philadelphia’s offense has gotten a spark this season from its offseason addition of RB Saquon Barkley, who’s putting together an MVP-caliber season. Barkley’s run 266 times for 1,623 yards and 11 touchdowns, and stopping him is going to be the biggest key for the Steelers. Even if they do limit Barkley, they’ll have to deal with WRs A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith on the outside.
The last time the Steelers and Eagles met, it was ugly. Philadelphia picked up a 35-13 win in a 2022 game where Brown went berserk with six catches for 156 yards and three touchdowns. Obviously, that was a much different Steelers team (that game dropped them to 2-6 before they made a late-season push to finish 9-8), but it showed just how much of a weapon Brown can be for QB Jalen Hurts. It’s a tough team to stop offensively, and the Eagles are solid defensively too.
Rookie CB Quinyon Mitchell has played like one of the best cornerbacks in football this season, and offseason addition Zach Baun has played at a Pro Bowl level at linebacker. Additionally, DL Milton Williams and Jalen Carter have been stout up the middle this season, and the Eagles have been a top-10 team when it comes to stopping the run this season.
The Steelers have gotten an offensive spark from QB Russell Wilson, who has invigorated the offense, and the Steelers defense has talent all over the field with T.J. Watt, Cameron Heyward, Alex Highsmith and Minkah Fitzpatrick, so there’s no doubt that it should be a close matchup next week. But with the Eagles having home-field advantage, it’s understandable to see them as favorites, although the number is a little bit surprising. The Steelers are 10-3 against the spread this season, and they’ll look to make that number 11-3 while also improving their record to 11-3 with a win over the Eagles.
