The Raiders and Steelers played some great, big games back in our distant memory and they’ll meet again Sunday night in Las Vegas.
Both teams are 1-1 on the season, but neither team has impressed us so far. However, we believe we’ve found a lean for betting this game.
Who do we like for our free NFL betting pick?
NFL Betting Lines
The Week 3 NFL betting market opened Las Vegas as a one-point home dog for Sunday night, with an over/under of right around 44. Early betting action then flipped the Raiders into 2.5-point favorites.
Steelers-Raiders Betting Preview
Pittsburgh bounced back from that season-opening loss to San Francisco to beat Cleveland last week 26-22. But the Steelers should consider themselves lucky. Pittsburgh scored a defensive touchdown on the first play of the game and later scored on a long catch-and-run to lead 16-14 at the half. The Steelers later trailed 22-19 but scored another defensive TD with seven minutes left and hung on from there.
Pittsburgh got out-gained by the Browns 408-255, out-rushed 198-55, and lost time of possession by a 35:25 split. But the Steelers turned four Cleveland turnovers into 14 points.
Now, can a team rely on 14 defensive points every week? Probably not.
Pittsburgh opened this season with a 30-7 loss to the 49ers. The Steelers got out-played that day, too.
Las Vegas followed up a season-opening win over Denver with a 38-10 dud at Buffalo last Sunday. The Raiders actually drove the opening possession of the game 75 yards to a touchdown and only trailed 14-10 late into the second quarter. But they came up totally empty offensively from there, let the game slip away, and came up short ATS at +7.5.
Las Vegas got out-gained by the Bills 450-240, out-rushed 183-55, turned the ball over three times, and got dominated in time of possession by a 40:20 split. And that’s how you lose by four touchdowns.
The Raiders opened this season with a 17-16 victory over the Broncos. Las Vegas only produced 61 yards on the ground that day but the defense played well, holding Denver to 260 total yards.
On the injury front, both these teams are already listing several key guys as questionable for Sunday night. So bettors may want to consult later reports before getting down on this game.
Steelers-Raiders Recent History
These teams met each of the last two seasons, both games in Pittsburgh; Oakland won two seasons ago 26-17 while the Steelers won last year 13-10. But this is the first meeting that will match Raiders QB Garoppolo against Pittsburgh’s Pickett.
NFL Betting Trends
Through Thursday night’s game NFL home teams are 14-19 SU, 12-19-2 ATS this season.
Through Thursday night NFL favorites are 19-14 SU but 12-19-2 ATS this season.
Totals Report
The totals are split 1-1 in Steelers games this season, which are averaging 43 total points.
The totals are split 1-1 in Raiders games, which are averaging 40 points.
Through Thursday night, the overs are 17-16 in the NFL this season.
