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NFL Expert Picks: Who the experts are predicting to win Steelers vs. Saints Week 16

The Pittsburgh Steelers have a tall task ahead of them, but who are the experts picking in this inter-conference matchup?

NFL: Pittsburgh Steelers at Denver Broncos Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports

The Pittsburgh Steelers and New Orleans Saints are slated to go head-to-head in Week 16 action in the Big Easy. This might be the biggest game on the NFL docket, and it just got a whole lost spicier when Cameron Jordan gave the Steelers’ offense, mainly quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, plenty of bulletin board material when he said he didn’t think Roethlisberger was a Hall of Fame quarterback.

Bulletin board material aside, the Steelers will have their hands full in a game which means a ton for the black-and-gold. If the Baltimore Ravens lose to the Los Angeles Chargers on Saturday night, and the Steelers beat the Saints, the Steelers would lock up their third consecutive AFC North division crown. If the Steelers lose the game, depending on the Ravens outcome, their playoff hopes and dreams could be teetering on the edge of oblivion.

As for the Saints, while they are the No. 1 seed in the NFC, they are playing to lock up home field advantage throughout the NFC Playoffs, and making the trip to the Super Bowl run through the Super Dome.

This is going to be a fun game to watch, but who are the experts predicting to win this game? Let’s take a look...

For the first time in recent memory, the major sites who produce weekly expert picks are leaning heavily on the opposition. The Steelers are a good team, and coming off a monumental win over the New England Patriots in Week 15, but it doesn’t seem to be enough to sway experts into taking them as underdogs on the road.

The experts at ESPN, CBS Sports and SB Nation have just one expert a piece who thinks the Steelers can go into New Orleans and pull out a victory.

Just ONE!

Don’t worry...it gets worse.

Considering these are just a few of the websites on the internet who put out weekly expert picks, our friends at NFL Pick Watch have an easy-to-read graph which charts every online expert pick every week. According to them, a whopping 92% of experts are leaning towards the Saints.

It is rare for the Steelers to be underdogs, and even more rare for the team to be underdogs in back-to-back weeks. In fact, the last time that happened was in 2015 when they were underdogs in four straight games. The Steelers went 2-2 in that stretch, but it should be noted those were games where Landry Jones was filling in for an injured Ben Roethlisberger.

Can the Steelers defy logic and win? Only time will tell, but Week 15 taught us the experts aren’t always right.