There was a collective huge sigh of relief coming from the Steel City after the Pittsburgh Steelers stopped the bleeding by ending a three-game losing streak with a victory over the Patriots on Sunday. They aren’t out of the woods just yet with the Ravens hot on their heels for the AFC North lead and two other teams having won the same amount of games. That season-opening tie with Cleveland is what separates the Steelers from the rest of the pack and a win over the New Orleans Saints in the Big Easy in Week 16 will keep them there.
Watch this Week 16 regular season matchup live on Sunday, December 23, 2018, at 4:25 p.m. ET at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.
Opening NFL Odds at BookMaker.eu
Pittsburgh Steelers +6
New Orleans Saints -6
Over/Under 56
It wasn’t an easy task taking on Tom Brady and the Patriots while trying to end a losing streak that dropped them to the middle of the AFC standings. But the Steelers rose to the occasion with one of their better defensive efforts of the year, and the offense did just enough without James Connor to slay the behemoths, putting an end to two streaks that the Steelers were staring at. The three-game slide was the most pressing as Pittsburgh’s lead in the division was cut to a half game. The five-gamer to Brady and the Pats was another sore spot.
During the losing streak the Steelers showed cracks on defense, giving up big plays and plenty of yards in losses to the Broncos, Chargers and Raiders. And it looked like more of the same on Sunday after the Pats scored on their third offensive play with Brady hooking up with Chris Hogan on a 63-yard scoring pass with the help of a blown assignment in the secondary. But that was it. The Steelers allowed just 291 yards the rest of the night, holding Brady to 25 of 36 passing for 279 yards with a Joe Haden pick, just Brady’s fifth interception in 14 games against the Steelers.
That defensive effort would be welcome against the Saints, but not likely. Instead, the Steelers will have to produce more on offense than they have recently. The loss of Connor has impacted the run game, but Jaylen Samuels has stepped up after being forced into a more prominent role the last two games. Samuels ran for 142 yards and the Steelers amassed 158 one week after totaling 40 against the Raiders. The status of Connor is up in the air and even if he plays, sustaining a ground attack is unlikely against the Saints’ top-ranked run defense.
Dare I say we could have a defensive battle in a game between two of the most recognizable offensive teams in the NFL. With the Saints defense playing the way it is, they don’t need Drew Brees to throw for 350 yards and the offense to put up 40 points a game. It’s a good thing because they haven’t been able to do that over the last three games.
We could ask what happened to the Saints offense, but as long as they keep winning does it really matter? Held to 12 points on Monday night, the Saints escaped Carolina behind another strong defensive effort. A group that was overshadowed most of the year while Brees was putting up video game numbers they have held the fort and been one of the top units in the game over the last six weeks.
New Orleans held the Panthers to 247 total yards, limited Cam Newton to 131 yards passing while sacking him four times, and forcing a pair of turnovers in a dominant performance. Carolina failed to take shots down the field, probably because Cam’s shoulder injury was bothering him, but more likely because the Saints never gave him time. This is an area where Ben Roethlisberger will struggle and I like the Saints to clamp down defensively on the Steelers. We won’t see Pittsburgh run the ball simply because the Saints are the best in the NFL defending the ground. So you can anticipate plenty of passing attempts for Big Ben on the live betting lines. And playing a prop bet on him going over his total attempts is a winner at BookMaker.eu.
Steelers at Saints Live Betting
Getting back inside the Superdome should revive the Saints offense, which has produced just 50 points total over the last three games. New Orleans averages about 10 points per game more at home and the Steelers haven’t been the best defensively the past month, though they had a big effort last week in slowing down Tom Brady and the Pats. Ride with Brees and the Saints offense on the live betting lines and figure that they will do more than they have the last three games now that they are on the fast track at the Superdome.
NFL Betting Odds
BookMaker offers play-by-play betting odds for live sporting events every day! The user-friendly wagering interface on your smartphone provides an easy way to place bets on the go. Mobile betting lines are updated by the minute, so click here to start gambling on thrilling live action at BookMaker Sportsbook!
