The Pittsburgh Steelers may be tied with New England for the best record in the AFC heading into Week 16, and the favorites to win at the latest NFL odds, but Ben Roethlisberger and company should have a healthy dose of desperation when they take the gridiron for their matchup against the injury-ravaged Houston Texans.
After suffering a heartbreaking home loss to the Patriots of all teams, last weekend, the Steelers would like nothing better than to get back the home-field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs that they were in control of until losing to Tom Brady and company.
However, with the straight-up outcome of this contest all but assured as Houston limps meekly off into the offseason, what NFL bettors really need to know is whether or not Ben Roethlisberger and company can cover the chalk as a near double-digit favorite.
Let’s find out right now.
There is some good news for Houston though as they get set to close out their regular season the next couple of weeks. Wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins and outside linebacker Jadeveon Clowney both earned their second Pro Bowl selections this season, but that’s not enough to dominate the Week 16 NFL Odds.
Hopkins has 92 receptions for 1,313 yards and 12 touchdowns, a franchise record. He is first in the NFL in targets (168), tied for fourth in receptions, second in receiving yards and first in receiving touchdowns. Hopkins also was a Pro Bowl pick in 2015. Clowney will make back-to-back trips to the Pro Bowl. With two games remaining, Clowney has set career highs for sacks (nine), tackles for loss (an AFC-high 20), and quarterback hits (20).
“They deserve it,” O’Brien said. “Those guys have played well this year. They’ve shown up every week and played very hard, played very productively. To be recognized as one of the best players at your position in the NFL is a big deal.”
Pittsburgh (11-3) at Houston (4-10) Week 16 NFL Odds & Pick
JuJu: “We have a lot of guys that have to take his plate and eat off of it.” pic.twitter.com/07EEoekBXB
— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) 22 de diciembre de 2017
- When: Sunday, December 24, 2017, at 4:30 PM ET
- Where: NRG Stadium, Houston, TX
- TV: NBC
- Radio: 970 AM (Pittsburgh) / 610 AM (Houston)
- Live Streaming: NFL Game Pass
- NFL Odds: Pittsburgh -9.5 (Over/Under at 44)
Weather Forecast
- Partly Cloudy: 16°C/61°F
- Humidity: 51%
- Precipitation: 2%
- Cloud Cover: 42%
- Wind: 9 mph ESE
- Stadium Type: Retractable
How to Bet Rams vs. Titans NFL Week 16 Spread & Expert Pick
Recent Head to Head (Last 5 Games)
- Record: Pittsburgh Steelers lead 3-2
- Score: Pittsburgh Steelers 22.20 / Houston Texans 17.60
- Rush Yards: Pittsburgh Steelers 128.00 / Houston Texans 107.40
- Pass Attempts: Pittsburgh Steelers 32.20 / Houston Texans 24.40
- Completion Percentage: Pittsburgh Steelers 60.87 / Houston Texans 64.75
- Passing Yards: Pittsburgh Steelers 219.80 / Houston Texans 135.20
- Total Yards: Pittsburgh Steelers 347.8 / Houston Texans 242.6
- Turnovers: Pittsburgh Steelers 1.60 / Houston Texans 1.60
Why Bet on the Pittsburgh Steelers Odds at -9.5?
Why bet on the Steelers in this contest? Well, there are several good reasons, but none better than the fact that they’re still in play for winning nailing down home-field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs. After suffering a crushing 27-24 loss against New England last weekend to snap their impressive eight-game winning streak, I expect the Steelers to come out of the locker room ready to rock and roll from the opening kickoff. While Pittsburgh will be without Pro Bowl wide receiver Antonio Brown, the Steelers are still in great shape at the wide receiver position thanks to the eye-opening play of rookie JuJu Simon-Schuster and the fact that they didn’t trade the clearly talented Martavis Bryant earlier in the season. Overcoming their controversial loss to the Patriots, however, is another matter altogether. The Steelers had what they thought was a game-winning touchdown wiped off the scoreboard via replay reversal and a last-second, red-zone interception killed them when a field goal would have been sufficient. “I don’t know that I have the answer to that,” Tomlin said when asked about his team’s recent adversity. “Really, we just put all our eggs in the 2017 basket. We don’t waste a lot of time thinking about the things that we’ve happened to have enjoyed in the past or worked to build off of those things. We’re singularly focused on this opportunity with this group, and I think that singular focus helps us probably more than anything.”Why Bet on the Houston Texans Odds at +9.5?
Why bet on the Texans in this contest? Well, because they’re getting almost 10 points and are playing at home. Still, keep in mind, this is a team that has absolutely nothing left to play for in this contest and one that looked completely awful in their 45-7 road loss against Jacksonville last weekend. Houston has lost four straight and seven of their last eight games and has some serious issues at quarterback without Deshaun Watson and they’re really just banged-up everywhere.
There is some good news for Houston though as they get set to close out their regular season the next couple of weeks. Wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins and outside linebacker Jadeveon Clowney both earned their second Pro Bowl selections this season, but that’s not enough to dominate the Week 16 NFL Odds.
Hopkins has 92 receptions for 1,313 yards and 12 touchdowns, a franchise record. He is first in the NFL in targets (168), tied for fourth in receptions, second in receiving yards and first in receiving touchdowns. Hopkins also was a Pro Bowl pick in 2015. Clowney will make back-to-back trips to the Pro Bowl. With two games remaining, Clowney has set career highs for sacks (nine), tackles for loss (an AFC-high 20), and quarterback hits (20).
“They deserve it,” O’Brien said. “Those guys have played well this year. They’ve shown up every week and played very hard, played very productively. To be recognized as one of the best players at your position in the NFL is a big deal.”
Latest Betting Trends for NFL Week 16
- Steelers are 1-5 ATS in their last 6 games
- Steelers are 8-1 SU in their last 9 games
- The total has gone OVER in 4 of Pittsburgh’s last 5 games
- Texans are 2-5 ATS in their last 7 games
- Texans are 1-7 SU in their last 8 games
- The total has gone OVER in 4 of Houston’s last 6 games at home
