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Las Vegas has spoken, and they really like the Pittsburgh Steelers. First, they have set the Over/Under on their win total in 2017 at 10.5 games, second highest in the NFL, but they also have them favored in every game...except for two.
One of the games the Steelers aren’t preseason favorites would be their trip to Arrowhead Stadium to play the Kansas City Chiefs. Understandable, even though the Steelers beat the Chiefs there in the AFC Divisional round last season, but Arrowhead is an extremely difficult stadium to play in.
The other game the Steelers aren’t favored? You guessed it, when the New England Patriots come to Heinz Field.
Take a look at the complete preseason slate of odds for the Steelers 2017 regular season:
Week 1: Steelers (-9) at Browns
Week 2: Vikings at Steelers (-6)
Week 3: Steelers (-5.5) at Bears
Week 4: Steelers (-1.5) at Ravens
Week 5: Jaguars at Steelers (-9)
Week 6: Steelers at Chiefs (-1.5) *
Week 7: Bengals at Steelers (-7)
Week 8: Steelers (-1.5) at Lions
Week 9: BYE
Week 10: Steelers (-1) at Colts
Week 11: Titans at Steelers (-6.5)
Week 12: Packers at Steelers (-3)
Week 13: Steelers (-1) at Bengals
Week 14: Ravens at Steelers (-6)
Week 15: Patriots (-1.5) at Steelers *
Week 16: Steelers (-1) at Texans
As stated earlier, Arrowhead is a tough place to play, and the Patriots have beaten the Steelers the past four meetings by an average of nearly 15 points per game.
When looking at the rest of the odds, it is clear to see the Steelers have several games which are projected to be extremely close. In 5 of the games where the Steelers are favored, they are favored by 2-points or less. Not huge spreads by any stretch of the imagination.
While fans should feel good about a 13-2 preseason prediction, the truth of the matter is these lines will change dramatically even before the regular season begins. Do you really think the Week 16 spread at Houston will remain the Steelers giving one point? Highly doubtful. If there is a key injury, or a team is severely under performing, the odds will move accordingly.
With that said, the fact the Steelers are heavy favorites in 4 of their first 5 games shows the importance of a quick start for the black and gold, because the back end of the schedule only gets tougher.