Detroit vs Pittsburgh | NFL Betting Odds & Analysis

The Detroit Lions come out of their bye week as the NFL’s only winless team but they are rested and pretty healthy and it’s not impossible to see them win Sunday as 8-point underdogs on the NFL odds at Pittsburgh.

How to Bet Lions at Steelers NFL Odds & TV Info

When: Sunday, 1 PM ET
Where: Heinz Field
TV: FOX
Radio: http://www.siriusxm.com/nfl
Stream Option: NFLSUNDAYTICKET.TV
Opening NFL Lines: Steelers -8 (total 42.5)

Last Meeting

The Steelers lead the all-time series 17-14-1. The teams last met in 2017 and Pittsburgh won 20-15 – its fifth straight win in the series. Juju Smith-Schuster scored on a 97-yard touchdown pass from Ben Roethlisberger late in the third quarter, and the Steelers forced the Lions to turn the ball over on downs twice. Roethlisberger is of course around. So is JuJu, but he’s out for the season injured.

Why Bet on Detroit?

The Lions have been competitive in most of their losses. The team added a receiver this week by claiming Josh Reynolds off waivers from the Titans. Before the Titans, Reynolds was a pretty good player with the Rams and will be reunited with Jared Goff and GM Brad Holmes after playing with them in L.A.

Reynolds (6-3, 196) caught 10 passes for 90 yards in five games with the Titans this season in a reserve role before being released. He had his best season in 2020 with the Rams with Goff as his quarterback, catching 52 passes for 618 yards and two scores in 16 games (13 starts). Reynolds caught 113 passes for 1,450 yards and nine touchdowns in his first four seasons with the Rams.

The Lions lost their top receiver, Tyrell Williams, Week 1 of the regular season due to a concussion, and he’s since been waived with an injury settlement. They lost second-year wide receiver Quintez Cephus to a collar bone injury Week 5 in Minnesota.

Detroit’s best offensive lineman, tackle Taylor Decker, has yet to play this season but probably will Sunday. The Lions placed Decker on injured reserve in September following a finger injury but he has been a full participant this week in practice. If Decker is able to play Sunday, it will trigger a domino effect that offensive coordinator Anthony Lynn said should have a positive impact on the Lions’ struggling offense. Rookie Penei Sewell will move to right tackle after playing the first eight games at left tackle, and Matt Nelson will return to a swing tackle role.

The Lions returned cornerbacks Ifeatu Melifonwu (quad) and Corey Ballentine (hamstring) to practice from injured reserve. They have 21 days to activate both players to the 53-man roster or shut them down for the rest of the season.

Running back D’Andre Swift has been one of Detroit’s most consistent weapons this season, especially in the passing game. Steelers coach Mike Tomlin compared the way the Lions use Swift to the way the New Orleans Saints use Pro Bowl running back Alvin Kamara. High praise for Swift, who leads all running backs in receptions (47) and receiving yards (415) this season.

Why Bet on Pittsburgh?

The Steelers won a wild game Monday over Chicago 29-27. The Steelers extended their winning streak this season to four consecutive games and their home winning streak on Monday Night Football to 19 in a row.

Ben Roethlisberger completed 21-of-30 passes for 205 yards and two touchdowns. Down 27-26, Roethlisberger marched the Steelers on a possession that began with 1:46 left in the fourth. Roethlisberger went 4-for-5 passing for 51 yards, with the only incompletion a clock-stopping spike, and drove the ball to the Bears’ 23-yard line. From there, kicker Chris Boswell connected on a 40-yard field goal for a 29-27 lead with 26 seconds remaining.

Offensive Rookie of the Year candidate rushed 22 times for 62 yards and one touchdown adding three catches for 16 yards on three targets. Harris capped the opening drive with a 10-yard touchdown scamper while his longest run of the night was for 13 yards. He’s now scored in five straight games.

It was the 150^th career win for coach Mike Tomlin and the first one over the Chicago Bears. It put him in 20th place overall in NFL history for wins by a head coach, moving out of a tie with Steelers Hall of Fame Coach Bill Cowher. He is also the 20th coach in league history to reach the 150-win mark.

Steelers linebacker T.J. Watt had three sacks to increase his career total to 61 while appearing in his 69th NFL game. Since 1982, when the individual sack became an official statistic, only three players have reached 61 sacks in fewer than 69 games: Reggie White (50 games), J.J. Watt (66) and Derrick Thomas. (67). T.J. Watt now has 14 games with at least two sacks. Since he entered the NFL in 2017, no other player has more such games.

Pittsburgh has played 68 games in franchise history on a short week following Monday Night Football. The Steelers own a 39-29 (.574) mark in such contests, including victories over Denver and Indianapolis in Week 2 and Week 16 of 2020. Pittsburgh has won eight of its last 10 games on a short week following Monday Night Football. The Steelers own a 12-7 (.632) record under Tomlin on a short week following Monday Night Football. Pittsburgh is 30-22 (.577) at home on a short week following Monday Night Football, including a 16-12 (.571) record at Heinz Field.