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Thursday Night Football Predictions: Pittsburgh Steelers vs New England Patriots

by Mike Allen - 12/5/2023

Thursday Night Football predictions Pittsburgh Steelers vs New England Patriots Bailey Zappe

As we enter the final few weeks of the NFL regular season, we are accustomed to seeing teams like the Pittsburgh Steelers and New England Patriots excel. A huge reason for this is the coaching.

Both Mike Tomlin of the Steelers and the infamous Bill Belichick of the Patriots are two of the best head coaches the game has ever seen. Unfortunately for Belichick, his name is on the chopping block.

Out of respect, they aren’t going to replace him mid-season or even late in the season. I get that. I also get the fact that this team has failed to score in the double digits in their previous three contests.

This is something I don't think I have ever seen in the NFL before. They did lose all of those games, but the New England defense held those opponents three opponents to 10 points or less.

Imagine being the defensive unit for the Patriots. One might assume, at this point, they would be letting up a little, but no. They have dug their heels in and are playing with a great deal of pride.

On the other side of the football, the Pittsburgh Steelers have also been carried by their defense. Thankfully for Tomlin’s team, their offense has recently had a resurgence. It didn’t come as a massive surprise to many as the offense played their best game of the season following the firing of offensive coordinator Matt Canada.

I remember my die-hard Steeler-loving friends, many of whom are from the Steel City, were posting about Canada and how bad he sucked at his job in the first month of the season. They were onto something, though, as his exit has made a difference for this unit.

With that said, this team did just lose by 14 points to the Arizona Cardinals just a couple of days ago.

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Patriots vs Steelers Betting Odds

Point Spread

Pittsburgh: -6 (-110)

Patriots: +6 (-110)

This line looks about right. Pittsburgh, due to high-level head coaching, has made their way to a 7-5 record. They are currently vying for an AFC Wild Card playoff spot. Three other potential Wild Card teams have the same record, and the Denver Broncos and Buffalo Bills are each 6-6.

It will be a dogfight for those last couple of postseason berths.

Moneyline

Pittsburgh: -275

New England: +230

It isn't outside of the realm of possibility that the Patriots can play spoiler in Pittsburgh this Thursday night. It is obviously a short week, but this isn't a low spot or a look-ahead game. The Steelers just got beaten by two scores by one of the worst teams in the league.

It was Kyler Murray under center throwing the ball, though, for Arizona, while the Pats have “moved on” from Mac Jones…

Point Total

Over 30: -110

Under 30: -110

Yes, you read that correctly. The over/under for this matchup is set at just 30 points. We have already stated why this point total is so low. Primetime games, and especially short-week primetime games, have been incredibly low-scoring for the entirety of the 2023 NFL regular season.

Patriots vs Steelers Betting Analysis

Do we have the guts to pull the trigger on the under 30 points? All signs and trends point toward the fact that we probably should.

Looking at playing at a side, we would need the Steelers to win by at least a touchdown on the road in Foxboro, historically one of the most difficult places to play, especially in the month of December.

I believe this one will play out closely until later in the game when the team that wants it more pulls away.

Patriots vs Steelers Betting Predictions

Give me the Pittsburgh Steelers to cover six points on the road against a legendary franchise and head coach. The offense, we know, doesn’t have it in them.

Will the defense come to play? They haven’t given us a reason why not. Either way, it likely won’t be enough.

20-10 Pittsburgh.

Prediction: Steelers (-6)

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