Pittsburgh Steelers vs Atlanta Falcons Prediction, 8/24/2023 NFL Picks, Best Bets & Odds Preaseason

Game: Pittsburgh Steelers vs Atlanta Falcons

Date: Thursday, August 24, 2023

Location: Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, GA

TV: NFL NET

Odds/Point Spread: Falcons (+4)

Total/Over-Under: 39

The Pittsburgh Steelers (9-8 last season) are en route to Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Thursday where they will compete against the Atlanta Falcons (7-10 last year). Pittsburgh opens this contest as 4-point favorites. The over/under has been set at 39.

The Pittsburgh Steelers wrapped up their year having a 9-8 record. When they last stepped on the football field, the Steelers faced the Browns and notched a win by a score of 28-14. Najee Harris was the rushing leader for the Steelers with 23 carries for 84 yds (3.7 yds per carry). George Pickens had an average of 24.0 yards per reception by recording 72 yards on 3 receptions. Kenny Pickett finished 13/29 with 195 yards passing and 1 touchdown. He had a QB rating of 79 and ended the contest without throwing a pick. When it came to stopping the run, the Steelers gave up 134 yards on 22 attempts, which calculates to 6.1 yards per run allowed. Pittsburgh relinquished 19 completions on 29 tries for a total of 173 yards, and a completion percentage of 65.5%. In the game, they had 67 plays which totaled 337 yds. The Pittsburgh Steelers ran the ball 37 different times and compiled 148 yds, earning them an average of 4.0 yards per tote.

The Steelers had 5,484 total yards for last season. Pittsburgh amassed 189 1st downs, and they were called for 94 infractions for 711 yds. Pittsburgh compiled 12 passing touchdowns and 16 touchdowns via the ground. They surrendered the ball 19 different times (14 interceptions and 5 fumbles lost). As a unit they averaged 121.9 yards in the run game, which had them sitting 16th in the NFL. Regarding putting points on the board, the Pittsburgh Steelers had an average of 18.1 points per game.

The Steelers were sitting in 10th in the National Football League regarding team defense, giving up 20.4 points per game. They gave up an average of 4.2 yards per rush on the ground and 108.1 rushing yards per game last year. For the year, they allowed 1,838 yards via the ground game in 17 contests. In terms of passing yards, the Steelers allowed 3,779 yards which had them ranked 20th in the NFL. In their 17 games played, they yielded 222.3 yards per outing via the pass and relinquishing a completion percentage of 61.3%. They gave up 330.4 yards/game putting them at 13th in the National Football League. They gave up 29 throwing touchdowns and 7 touchdowns via the ground game.

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The Falcons wrapped up their season having earned a 7-10 record. In their last game, the Falcons went home victorious with a score of 30-17 when they played the Buccaneers. Desmond Ridder (2 touchdowns) finished the contest with 224 yards on 19/30 passing while his quarterback rate was 108.2. He kept the ball away from the defense with no interceptions and his average yards per pass attempt was 7.5 yds. Drake London was a featured target for the Falcons, grabbing 6 passes for 120 yards (20.0 yds per reception). Tyler Allgeier ran the football 24 times for 135 yards, ending the contest with 5.6 yards per carry for Atlanta. The Falcons ended up finishing with 382 yds while running 67 plays (5.7 yds per play). Atlanta ran for 5.0 yds per carry, finishing with a total of 174 yds on 35 carries. Atlanta allowed 20 run attempts for 86 yds (4.3 yards per carry). The Falcons secondary allowed a completion percentage of 64.7%, surrendering 136 yds on 22 for 34 through the air.

In relation to their scoring prowess, the Falcons were ranked 15th in the league holding an average of 21.5 points per contest. Last year, the Falcons threw for a total of 2,699 passing yards along with averaging 158.8 passing yards per contest, putting them at 31st in the NFL. They averaged 159.9 yards per game via the ground game and ran for 2,718 yards for last year. The Atlanta Falcons held an average of 318.6 yards per contest which had them sitting 24th out of all teams in the NFL. The Atlanta offense racked up 594 yds of penalties on 68 violations, which was good for 32nd in football in terms of helping out the other team. They threw 9 interceptions while losing 12 fumbles and they obtained 148 first downs.

The Falcons conceded 22.7 points per game, which put them in 23rd in football. They gave up 26 touchdowns from the passing game and 231.9 yards per contest, which put them in 25th out of all teams. Last season, they surrendered 386 total points. Atlanta allowed a total of 2,214 yards rushing (130.2 yards per game) in addition to 15 touchdowns on the ground over the course of last season. The Falcons defense took the field for 1,082 plays, which ranked them 20th in the NFL. Their defense tallied 17 takeaways (7 fumbles recovered and 10 interceptions) in the previous season.

Who will win tonight's Steelers/Falcons NFL game against the spread?

Tony's Pick: Take the Steelers -4

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