The opening night of the NFL season is right around the corner, and thanks to a total which has already risen from 50.5 to 52.5, the curtain-raiser between the New England Patriots and the Pittsburgh Steelers is going expected to be a barnburner. But will the two most notable receivers in the game, Rob Gronkowski and Antonio Brown end up finding the end zone in the clash? BookMaker Sportsbook will have props posted for Thursday Night Football for you to dissect.
GETTING GRONK WITH IT
Nobody parties in the end zone like the Gronk. The massive tight end has played in 65 games in his career and has scored 54 touchdowns in that span. Last season, he played in 15 of the 16 games and had 12 trips to the end zone, and he scored once in all three of New England's playoff games.
In totality if you include the postseason, Gronkowski has scored a touchdown in 17 of his last 23 games, and you can bet that Tom Brady's favorite red zone target is going to be a massive threat in this game as well.
The Steelers have never been particularly good at defending against tight ends, and Gronk is no exception. In three games versus Pittsburgh, the New England tight end has logged 21 receptions on just 24 targets with 309 yards and four touchdowns. The only game in which he didn't score a touchdown against Pittsburgh was in 2011, and that day, Aaron Hernandez found the end zone.
Last year, Pittsburgh allowed 11 touchdowns to opposing tight ends.
However, the Steelers have a new plan in place to try to slow down Gronkowski.
"You just have to jam him up a little bit, mess with his timing," said Steelers linebacker Ryan Shazier. "If you mess up their timing, they are really time-oriented. You have to mess up their timing and get in his face with pressure, then I feel we can slow him down a little bit."
CONSISTENCY KEY FOR BROWN
With Le'Veon Bell and Martavis Bryant suspended for this game, Antonio Brown could have a field day. Yes, the Patriots were great last year against opposing wide receivers, allowing a total of just 11 TDs to wide outs over 16 regular season games. However, both Darrelle Revis and Brandon Browner are gone, and there aren't any tremendously suitable replacements coming through those doors at Gillette Stadium.
Brown was fantastic last season, catching at least five passes in every single one of his games, including at least seven in his last 11 games. He had eight 100+ yard efforts as well.
However, this prop isn't about how many catches Brown is going to have. It's all about whether he scores or not. Last season, the Central Michigan standout found the end zone 13 times, but he scored in just nine of his 16 games. He's going to be an odds-on favorite here against New England to score, but we're not all that sure that he should be when push comes to shove, especially knowing that there isn't another top-flight receiver flanking him on the other side of the field.
Brown though, was second in the NFL in red zone targets last year with 33, and his 19 red zone completions was best in the league. Only Randall Cobb had more red zone touchdowns than did Brown.
One has to think that the Steelers are going to end up scoring at least two or three touchdowns in this game. The implied total for Steelers points in this game is set at approximately 22.5, which insinuates three TDs. Brown scored 13 of the team's 43 touchdowns a season ago. Just based on that math, Brown should score more often than not in this one, but it certainly is far from a lock.
BookMaker opened the spread for this Thursday game at -7 in favor of the New England Patriots. The NFL odds total surfaced at 50.5. Minute-by-minute spreads, totals and props are available for this game using the live betting platform at BookMaker.
Load your betting bankroll from your smartphone or tablet with BookMaker’s new cashier feature! Depositing and withdrawing funds from your account has never been easier. BookMaker's live betting platform means you always have access to odds and lines to every sporting event. Click here and start wagering today! The game between the New England Patriots and Pittsburgh Steelers is scheduled for Thursday, September 10, 2015, at 8:30 p.m. ET at Gillette Stadium. The game will be broadcast regionally on NBC.
