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It’s a short week for the New Orleans Saints and they might have a new starting quarterback on Sunday when they visit the Pittsburgh Steelers, who come off their bye week. The Saints are short favorites on the NFL odds.

How to Bet Saints at Steelers NFL Odds & TV Info

When: Sunday, 1 PM ET
Where: Acrisure Stadium
TV: FOX
Radio: http://www.siriusxm.com/nfl
Stream Option: NFLSUNDAYTICKET.TV
Opening NFL Lines: Saints -1.5 (total 40.5)

Series History

The Steelers are one of the Saints’ most infrequent opponents. The two teams have only played six times since 1993, the least meetings the Saints have had with an NFL foe over that span – excluding the Houston Texans, who entered the NFL in 2002. The Saints are 9-7 all-time against Pittsburgh and have a 1-1 record against the Steelers in four games played at Tulane Stadium, a 1-2 record at Three Rivers Stadium and a 16-12 win at Pitt Stadium in 1968. When scoring 16 points or more, the Saints are 9-1 in the series.

Why Bet on New Orleans?

The Saints come off a pretty ugly 27-13 home loss on Monday to Baltimore. The Ravens converted nine of 15 third downs and had 319 total yards. The Saints were 3 of 11 on third down and finished with season lows of 243 yards and 13 first downs. Baltimore possessed the ball for 37:47.

“They beat us in a lot of different areas,” Saints coach Dennis Allen said. “Time of possession is a factor of all phases of the game. And so we did not do a good job on third down in either aspect, offensively or defensively.”

Andy Dalton passed for 210 yards and New Orleans’ lone touchdown to tight end Juwan Johnson, which came when the game was virtually out of reach in the fourth quarter. He missed a wide-open Marquez Callaway in the end zone near the end of the first half and had several balls batted at the line, including one intercepted by Justin Houston to seal the Saints’ fate. Alvin Kamara was limited to 62 yards from scrimmage, his lowest output in five games.

Allen said he never considered benching Dalton for Jameis Winston but also didn’t commit to Dalton starting this week. Winston opened the season as the Saints’ starting quarterback but hasn’t played since getting hurt in Week 3. Winston is healthy now.

The Saints also were struck by some critical injuries on offense and defense Monday, arguably the most prominent being center Erik McCoy (calf) and linebacker Pete Werner (ankle). McCoy’s injury prompted Cesar Ruiz to move from right guard to center, with Calvin Throckmorton sliding in to play right guard. Ruiz made the same move last year, when McCoy was injured in the season opener.

Kamara is unlikely to be suspended this season with his trial date scheduled for March 1 in connection to his involvement in an alleged assault that occurred in Las Vegas past February. The league office has declined to suspend Kamara even with video evidence and seemingly intends to wait until the legal process plays out before considering a suspension and/or fine.

After nine games, the Saints – 3-6 entering Sunday’s game – still are seeking the consistency that possibly can smooth out their season, which finds them just one game out of first place in the NFC South Division behind Atlanta and Tampa Bay.

“I just think more consistency is what we’re looking for,” Allen said this week. “We haven’t done it consistently enough where we’ve put offense, defense, special teams together and we’ve had too many games where there has been a phase or two that hasn’t operated in a way that we think gives us an opportunity to win. I think that’s the biggest thing, just team consistency and putting all three phases together for a full 60 minutes.”

Why Bet on Pittsburgh?

The Steelers come out of their bye at 2-6 and looked terrible Week 8 in a 35-13 loss at Philadelphia. Rookie Kenny Pickett showed more short-term growing pains for the Steelers and was 25 of 38 for 191 yards and an interception. Wide receiver Chase Claypool threw a 1-yard pass to fullback Derek Watt on a trick play in the first quarter for Pittsburgh’s only touchdown.

Claypool has since been traded to Chicago for a 2023 second-round pick. Claypool, a 2020 second-round pick by Pittsburgh, had 153 catches for 2,044 yards and 12 touchdowns over the last two-plus seasons with Pittsburgh. Ten of Claypool’s touchdowns came as a rookie.

The Steelers aren’t performing like a playoff team — or anything close to it. Though the end of Ben Roethlisberger’s career wasn’t smooth, the Steelers are still dealing with the ripple effects of life without a veteran signal-caller and the transition to a younger core on both sides of the ball. The defense, playing without T.J. Watt for nearly the entire first half of the season, struggled through the NFL’s toughest schedule, unable to get pressure on the quarterback and stop big passing plays.

Watt, the 2021 NFL Defensive Player of the Year, injured his pectoral in Week 1 but is expected to play in this game. Watt’s impact on the defense cannot be understated. The Steelers went 1-6 without him and watched their pass rush stall. After registering seven sacks in Week 1 against the Bengals, when Watt played most of the game, the Steelers had seven sacks. They had just eight total in the seven games Watt missed.

Safety Damonte Kazee is also set to be activated from injured reserve. Kazee injured his wrist and forearm in August and began the season on IR. The coaches developed a “big nickel” package with three safeties they used extensively in training camp, and it could be something the Steelers use in the second half of the season.

Game Trends

Saints are 5-2 ATS in their last 7 games following a straight up loss.
Saints are 11-5 ATS in their last 16 road games vs. a team with a losing home record.
Saints are 3-9 ATS in their last 12 games following a ATS win.
Steelers are 1-4 ATS in their last 5 games following a straight up loss.
Steelers are 1-4-1 ATS in their last 6 home games vs. a team with a losing road record.
Steelers are 1-7-1 ATS vs. a team with a losing record.