Only the Eagles have longer odds than the Washington Redskins to make the playoffs within the NFC East per the current NFL specials futures. Jay Gruden will be out to show the linemakers they’re dead wrong when they square off against the Pittsburgh Steelers in the first Monday Night Football installment of 2016. This matchup is one of three in Week 1 with a 50+ point total. Each team is loaded with quick strike offensive firepower, so look for some points to hit the board.
This matchup in Week 1 of the regular season will take place on Monday, September 12, 2016, at 7:10 p.m. ET at FedEx Field.
NFL Odds at BookMaker.eu
Pittsburgh Steelers -3
Washington Redskins +3
Over/Under 50
Odds Analysis
Very limited line movement in this one with the pointspread and total still residing exactly where they did when first opened. The Steelers are 3 point road favorites with the -125 juice heavily in their favor. The total opened at 50 and has seen no movement whatsoever.
Better than 71 percent of the betting action resides with the visiting Steelers while a shade less than 67 percent expects a high scorer. Pittsburgh was favored on the road once last season and lost that game to Baltimore 20-17 as hefty 11 point favorites. In 2014, they split their four road games when favored and have recently been an unreliable investment in the visitor’s role when favored (4-5-1 ATS last 10).
Injury Report
Le’Veon Bell – The Steelers diminutive running back has battled injuries in his early career. He’s bouncing back from another one in 2016, but first, he needs to ride out a three game suspension for a failed drug test. That leaves D’Angelo Williams as the primary ball carrier that gets the pleasure of teeing off on a Washington defense that conceded 4.8 yards per carry (No. 31) and 122.6 rushing yards per game (No. 26) last season.
Ryan Kerrigan – The Skins have a number of walking wounded on their injury report, but Ryan Kerrigan’s groin injury could prove to be the biggest of the bunch. Already down a linebacker with Junior Galette suffering another Achilles injury, Washington is down pass rushers. That bodes terribly when running up against Ben Roethlisberger who has a bevy of options to get the ball to when given enough time. Washington was middle of the road in the sack department last season, so it could be a long night if the front seven isn’t able to pressure Big Ben into some mistakes.
Last Meeting
The Skins will take the field tonight battling some big time history and a trend they’ll most definitely want to put to an end. Pittsburgh has won each of the last five meetings dating back to 1997, and covered the closing number in three of them.
Though the teams look much different than they did when they last locked horns back in 2012, it’s a tough thing to shake when a team has your number. Still, Washington won six of its eight regular season home games last season, and is a team on the rise.
Free ATS Pick
So I’m thinking we’re in store for one heck of a barnburner in this one! The Redskins most definitely feel slighted by the media – and the oddsmakers for that matter – with most expecting the NFC East to come down to the Cowboys and Giants even though it was Washington that proved to be the best team in the division by logging the only +.500 record.
While the schedule is more daunting in 2016, many of the Skins toughest games come in the comforts of their own backyard. Yes, the Steelers are predicted to win three more games than Washington this season per the current season long win totals, but they’re not at full strength right now. Pittsburgh’s also desperate to reconfigure a secondary that was flat out putrid last season, and Kirk Cousins has the weapons in DeSean Jackson, Jordan Reed and Jamison Crowder to make that unit pay right off the bat.
Washington hasn’t logged back-to-back winning seasons since 1996-97 and hasn’t gone back to the playoffs in succession since the early 90s. There’s also that five game losing streak they’ve got going versus Pittsburgh. I expect the home team to put a big time crooked number on the board good enough to lay the ground work of reversing all those trends.
NFL Odds: Redskins 33, Steelers 27
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