The Pittsburgh Steelers can hold off on making their reservations for Super Bowl LI after getting thoroughly dominated by the Eagles on Sunday. Pittsburgh was, and should still be, a trendy pick to represent the AFC in Houston come February, but the journey might not be as easy as they once thought. The Kansas City Chiefs are part of the upper crust in the AFC and could make things a bit more interesting in the early part of the season by clinching a road victory in Week 4.
Watch this regular season Week 4 matchup live on Sunday, October 2, 2016, at 8:30 p.m. ET at Heinz Field.
NFL Odds at BookMaker.eu
Kansas City Chiefs +5.5
Pittsburgh Steelers -5.5
Over/Under 47
Odds Analysis
The line has seen plenty of movement since hitting the board on Sunday. Pittsburgh opened at -4.5 and the early money was on the visitors. Sharps waged the line as high as -6 before settling on its current -5.5 where things have leveled off. The total dropped a half point to its current 47 and still could be a risky bet given the state of the two teams. I think the over/under will come down slightly, giving the over more value.
Injury Report
Laurent Duvernay-Tardif – The Chiefs were forced to scramble on the offensive line with starting guards Duvernay-Tardif and Parker Ehinger both missing Sunday’s game due to injury. The offense struggled and managed to score just 10 points, but thanks to eight New York turnovers, two of which were converted directly into touchdowns, the woes were largely overshadowed. Kansas City managed just 293 yards of offense and the running game was particularly troublesome, producing just 72 yards on 27 attempts.
Lawrence Timmons – Left the last game and visited the hospital to have his shin injury looked at. One of the defensive anchors from his linebacker spot, Timmons and the rest of the defense had problems stopping Philadelphia’s screen game. It got worse when Timmons and Ryan Shazier both exited the game. Shazier was able to return, but the Eagles did whatever they wanted against what had been a solid group.
Revenge Angle
Looking to put their embarrassing 34-3 loss to Philadelphia behind them should be enough motivation for the Steelers. But if they need more, they can also think back to last season’s meeting with the Chiefs. We could say Pittsburgh was responsible for the Chiefs going on their 10-game winning streak to close out last regular season to make them part of NFL history. Kansas City had lost five straight entering that Week 7 showdown and was an afterthought in the race with a 1-5 record.
The Steelers were without Ben Roethlisberger for that game and the offense sputtered behind Landry Jones. Le’Veon Bell and Antonio Brown were present and put up their usual big numbers, but without Big Ben running the show, Pittsburgh managed just 339 total yards and one touchdown. Bell, who is eligible to return from his suspension this week, ran for 121 yards on 17 carries and Brown had six receptions for 124 yards. It was evident during that game and the others Roethlisberger missed last year, that Pittsburgh is simply a different club with him behind center.
Free ATS Pick
Every team gets a clunker and the Steelers had theirs on Sunday. Not many saw the 34-3 loss to the Eagles coming and as Cameron Heyward said many times following the game, “we got our asses kicked.” It’s only one game and no matter the score it only counts as one loss, so the Steelers have that going for them. They also get Bell back in the lineup after his suspension is done. Bell likely wouldn’t have helped against Philly, but he adds a dimension to the offense that will come in handy against the Chiefs.
Pittsburgh got a good look at the Chiefs offense during its game with Philly. Eagles coach Doug Pederson was Andy Reid’s offensive coordinator for five seasons before taking the Eagles’ job. There likely will be similarities and if the Steelers didn’t learn enough from their disaster in Philly, shame on them. I think Pittsburgh did and I like them to bounce back with a convincing win at home, covering the 5.5-point spread.
NFL Odds: Steelers 27, Chiefs 17
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