Statschecker: Bills At Steelers: 5 Things To Consider
This week’s edition of Sunday Night Football features a match-up between two second place teams in the AFC. The Bills head to Pittsburgh with an excellent record of 9-4. That leaves them just one game behind the Patriots in the AFC East.
Even without Ben Roethlisberger for almost the entire season, the Steelers have managed to stay respectable with a record of 8-5. Unfortunately for fans in the Steel City, that leaves them three games behind the white-hot Baltimore Ravens in the AFC North. Even so, Pittsburgh can keep their playoff hopes alive with a home win against Josh Allen and the Bills.
Oddsmakers are giving the Steelers a lot of respect. They are currently two-point favorites which is heavily supported by their home field advantage. The Bills will certainly like their chances of coming into Pittsburgh and winning this game outright.
Before you decide how you intend to bet this game you need to visit our exclusive Statschecker Site. I’ll give you five interesting facts about the game in this piece, but the full range of information is well worth your time. It should be required reading for you before you lay down your money on any NFL game.
1. The Steelers are hotter than you think
If you’re still thinking of Pittsburgh as the rudderless team they looked like several months ago then you need to readjust your line of thinking. The Steelers come into Sunday night having won seven of their last eight games. There aren’t many hotter teams in the NFL.
This season has arguably been Mike Tomlin’s best coaching job. He’ll need to craft a near-perfect game plan to move the ball consistently against the Buffalo defense. This game will go a long way towards determining how the Steelers organization should feel about Devlin Hodges at quarterback.
2. The Bills are great away from home
A big reason why Buffalo will be such a playoff team in a few weeks can be chalked up to their ability to play away from home. Josh Allen’s team is 5-1 away from the comfort of upstate New York on the current campaign.
Buffalo’s identity as a tough, physical team that wins games with their defense and run game makes them a really dangerous threat on the road. They won’t be intimidated by terrible towels or the noise in Pittsburgh. If you’re thinking of backing the Steelers based on their home field advantage you should promptly reconsider.
3. This won’t be a shootout
If you’re looking for a high-flying action that will feature two electric offenses lighting up the scoreboard then you should find a different game. The chances of this turning into a pitched defensive battle are quite high.
The stingy Bills defense is only giving up 16.3 points per game and the Steelers aren’t far behind that mark with 18.6 points per contest. The first team that manages to score 21 points may well emerge victorious.
4. Let us reiterate, betting the over is a bad idea
Both teams come into this weekend’s game with identical records of 3-10 when it comes to hitting the over. There might be some explosive plays in this game, but there will not be a plethora of long, sustained drives.
It doesn’t matter what the over/under margin is set. You should avoid it at all costs. This game could easily end up being somewhere in the neighborhood of a 10-7 final. Don’t fall for the sucker bet of taking the over just because it’s a low number.
5. We don’t know how Buffalo will play at night
One of the weirdest facts about this game is the reality that the Bills haven’t played a single night game this season. That shouldn’t have a drastic effect on this game’s outcome, but it is a quirk of the schedule that might have some measure of significance.
Fortunately for the Bills, their blueprint for winning doesn’t require perfect conditions. They’re going to stick to trying to play great defense and making just enough offensive plays to grab the victory. That strategy works well during the day and at night when you have the personnel Buffalo possesses.
Back the Bills to win outright
Allen doesn’t enjoy the honor of being the best quarterback on the field all that often, but it will be the case on Sunday night. Look for him to break Pittsburgh’s back in the second half with a few big runs from the quarterback position.
The spread is pretty irrelevant here. Look to make some extra cash and just take Buffalo to win this game outright. The Steelers are going to turn into pumpkins at home on Sunday night.