Sunday Night Football, Week 7. Tonight we have the Pittsburgh Steelers hosting the New York Jets. The Jets are 1.5 point road favorites according to FanDuel Sportsbook.
The 4-2 Pittsburgh Steelers are coming off a 32 – 13 thrashing of the Las Vegas Raiders last week after losing their prior two games. The 32 points against the Raiders were the most points the Steelers have scored this season. The Steelers, despite their 4-2 record and their place atop the NFC North standings, are expected to replace their starting quarterback tonight. Russell Wilson is expected to make his first start in a Steelers uniform, replacing Justin Fields under center.
The Steelers have their usual excellent defense this season, ranking 8th in the NFL in yards allowed, 4th in rushing yards allowed and 2nd in points allowed. On offense it’s been a different story. The Steelers rank 21st in points scored, 26th in yards gained and 28th in passing yards, which may explain the change in starting quarterbacks.
The 2-4 New York Jets come into this game having lost three straight games. They were in position to win the game in the waning seconds in each of the last three losses but failed to seal the deal. Aaron Rodgers threw interceptions to end the Jets hopes in each of the last two games. The Jets have looked much like they have in recent seasons, with the offense being one of the worst in the NFL and the defense one of the best in the NFL. The Jets rank 30th in rushing yards, 28th in rushing yards per carry, 25th in net passing yards per attempt, and 22nd in total yards on offense. That’s not exactly what the Jets anticipated when they traded for Aaron Rodgers to lead them out of the wilderness. The defense, however, has been very good. The Jets rank 2nd in passing yards allowed, 2nd in passing touchdowns allowed, 3rd in net yards passing allowed per attempt, 9th in rushing yards allowed per carry, 2nd in overall yards allowed and 7th in points allowed.
This game shapes up as a battle between two struggling offenses and two excellent defenses. The Steelers are a run oriented offense, and the Jets have struggled at times against the run. The Jets are a pass oriented offense, and the Steelers have struggled at times against the pass. The team that better exploits their opponent’s defensive soft spots will likely win this game in what sets up as a likely low scoring defensive slog. With the Steelers at home, that should favor the Steelers, as long as they can get their running game going and avoid turning the ball over on offense. I’m taking the Steelers to do just that and beat the Jets tonight on Sunday Night Football. If you bet, good luck to you, and please consider using our friends at FanDuel Sportsbook.
