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The Pittsburgh Steelers take on the Oakland Raiders at the Oakland Alameda Coliseum on Sunday in Week 14 of the NFL season.
The Steelers are 1st in the AFC North but with only a tie separating them from the second place Baltimore Ravens, Pittsburgh needs to win this game to boost their playoff chances. The Raiders meanwhile are at the doormat of the AFC West and their season is all but over now.
Slipped Away
The Pittsburgh Steelers aim to bounce back after allowing one game to slip away from their hands. The Steelers dropped to 7-4-1 on the season following a 30-33 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers, marking the first time in franchise history where Pittsburgh lost a home game after leading by 14 points.
Ben Roethlisberger has completed 341-517 passes and has thrown for a total of 3,945 passing yards with 26 touchdowns and 13 interceptions. James Conner has rushed for 909 yards with 12 touchdowns but he is out for this game with a sprained ankle. Juju Smith-Schuster has 1,104 receiving yards with 4 touchdowns while Antonio Brown has caught 12 touchdown passes and a total of 1,028 receiving yards.
Pittsburgh Steelers vs Oakland Raiders 12/9/18
Moneyline Odds: Steelers -600, Raiders +475
Odds from betonline.ag as of 12/5/18
Moral Victory
The Oakland Raiders lost yet again in their last game, falling to the Kansas City Chiefs 33-40. But after being able to hang around with one of the league’s top teams, the Raiders enter this game feeling good about themselves after picking up a much needed moral victory.
Derek Carr has thrown for a total of 3,112 passing yards with 16 scores and 8 pick offs on 292-422 passing. Doug Martin has rushed for 445 yards with two touchdowns but he may not suit up for this game with a knee injury. Jared Cook has caught a total of 709 yards in the air with 6 touchdowns on the season.
Who Wins?
The Steelers are 6-2 SU in their last 8 games played. Pittsburgh is also 10-1-1 SU in their last 12 games on the road. The Raiders are 1-7 SU in their last 8 games played and 1-6 SU in their last seven games at home. Head to head, the Raiders are 4-2 SU in their last six games against the Steelers and Oakland is also 4-2 SU in their last six home games against Pittsburgh.
Pittsburgh is also without Conner in this game but while that will have an effect on Pittsburgh, it’s not going to make an effect in the outcome of this game. Big Ben will have to throw more though but with JuJu Smith and Antonio Brown, the Steelers should be able to pull this one off against the Raiders’ scoring defense which ranks second to the last in the league.
Oakland is going to give the Steelers a fight but it won’t be enough. We’re picking the Pittsburgh Steelers to beat the Oakland Raiders on 12/9/18.
Other Bets To Make
The Steelers are 6-5-1 ATS in their 12 games played this season. They are also 3-2-1 ATS in six road games this season. On the other hand, the Raiders are 2-6 ATS in their last 8 games played and 2-5-1 ATS in their last 8 games at home. Head to head, the Raiders are 6-1 ATS in their last 7 games against the Steelers. Oakland is also 4-2 ATS in their last six home games against Pittsburgh.
Pittsburgh Steelers vs Oakland Raiders 12/9/18
Spread Odds: Steelers -10.5 (-110), Raiders +10.5 (-110)
Odds from betonline.ag as of 12/5/18
The Steelers shook off a slow start and were doing well heading into Week 11. But since dismantling Carolina 52-21, Pittsburgh has looked unstable. They needed a late score to beat the struggling Jaguars the following week, lost by a touchdown to Denver the next week and then was defeated by the Chargers by a field goal last December 2nd. I’m picking the Steelers to win this game outright but I don’t trust them with the 10.5 point spread because they have looked fragile recently. I’ll take the plus points here.
Prediction: Raiders +10.5
The total has gone over in 7 out of the 12 games played by the Steelers this season while the under is 4-2 in Pittsburgh’s six road games this season.The total has gone over in four out of the last six games played by Oakland while the under is 7-3 in the Raiders’ last 10 games. Head to head, the under has hit in 5 out of the last 7 games between these teams in Oakland.
Pittsburgh Steelers vs Oakland Raiders 12/9/18
Over/Under Odds: Over 51.5 -105, Under 51.5 -115
Odds from betonline.ag as of 12/5/18
With Conner out for this game, expect Roethlisberger to come up with more passing plays. With more passing plays, there will be more overall plays which means there will be more scoring opportunities especially against a Raiders defense that’s allowing 30.6 points per game. The Steelers are averaging 28.8 points per game while the Raiders have increased their scoring average to 24.3 in their last three games. I like the over in this game because I think this game will be contested in the air.
Prediction: Over 51.5
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