Pittsburgh Steelers vs Atlanta Falcons Prediction, 9/8/2024 NFL Picks, Best Bets & Odds Week 1

Game: Pittsburgh Steelers at Atlanta Falcons

Date: Sunday, September 8, 2024

Location: Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, GA

TV: Fox

Odds/Point Spread: Falcons (-3.0)

Total/Over-Under: 40.5

Mercedes-Benz Stadium is the location where the Atlanta Falcons (7-10 last season) will attempt to beat the Pittsburgh Steelers (10-7 last year) on Sunday. Atlanta opens this game as 3.0-point favorites. The total comes in at 40.5.

The Pittsburgh Steelers wrapped up their season having earned a 10-7 record. The last time they stepped on the football field, the Steelers played against the Bills and went home with a loss by a final score of 31-17. Jaylen Warren was the rushing leader for the Steelers with 8 attempts for 38 yds (4.8 yards per attempt). Pat Freiermuth averaged 15.2 yds per reception by tallying 76 yards on 5 catches. Mason Rudolph connected on 22/39 with 229 yards passing and 2 TDs. He had a quarterback rating of 80 and ended the game with 1 interception. On the ground, the Steelers gave up 179 yards on 34 tries, which calculates to 5.3 yds per rush surrendered. Pittsburgh allowed 21 pass completions on 30 tries for 189 yards, and a completion rate of 70.0%. In all, they tallied 63 plays which totaled 324 yards. The Pittsburgh Steelers ended up rushing 23 different times and accounted for 106 yds, which had them averaging 4.6 yards per carry.

The Steelers tallied 5,173 yards in total for the prior season. Pittsburgh compiled 153 1st downs as a unit, and they were called for 86 infractions for 753 yds. Pittsburgh amassed 13 passing touchdowns and 16 touchdowns via the ground. They surrendered the ball 16 times (9 picks and 7 fumbles). Offensively they averaged 118.2 yards rushing, which had them sitting 13th in the NFL. Concerning getting in the endzone, the Pittsburgh Steelers were sitting at 17.9 points per game.

Concerning yards via the pass, the Steelers allowed 3,860 yards which had them ranked 17th in the National Football League. During their 17 games played last season, they allowed 227.1 yards per game through the air in addition to surrendering a completion percentage of 60.7%. They gave up 342.1 yards per contest which put them 21st in the league. They allowed teams to run for an average of 4.3 yards per rushing attempt and 115.1 yards on the ground per game last season. During the campaign, they gave up 1,956 yards via the running game in 17 outings. The Steelers were ranked 6th in the National Football League regarding the opposition scoring, conceding 19.1 PPG.

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The Falcons ended the season having earned a 7-10 mark. The last time they stepped on the football field, the Falcons walked away with a loss by a score of 48-17 when they faced the Saints. Desmond Ridder (2 touchdowns) ended the game with 291 yards on 22/30 through the air while his QB rate was 111.9. He threw 1 interception and his average yards per pass attempt was 9.7 yds. Bijan Robinson carried the ball 11 times for 28 yards, finishing the contest with 2.5 yards per attempt for Atlanta. Bijan Robinson was a featured target for the Falcons, snagging 7 throws for 103 yds (14.7 yds per catch). Atlanta rushed the ball for 3.1 yards per tote, finishing with a total of 78 yds on 25 carries. The Falcons finished the contest with 389 yards while running 60 plays (6.5 yards per play). The Falcons pass defense gave up a completion rate of 78.6%, relinquishing 246 yds on 22 for 28 through the air. Atlanta gave up 35 attempts on the ground for 154 yards (4.4 yards per carry).

In terms of how much they scored, the Falcons earned a ranking of 26th out of all teams in the NFL averaging 18.9 points per contest. Throughout last season, the Falcons racked up 3,524 passing yards in addition to an average of 207.3 passing yards per game, giving them a rank of 22nd out of all NFL teams. They held an average of 127.0 yards per game on the ground and rushed for 2,159 yards overall. The Atlanta Falcons had an average of 334.3 yards per outing which had them sitting 17th out of all teams in the league. The Atlanta offense accrued 743 penalty yards on 84 violations, which ranked them 28th in football in terms of hurting your team. They threw 17 picks while surrendering 11 fumbles and they recorded 181 1st downs.

They allowed the opposition 24 touchdowns from the passing game as well as 202.9 yards/outing, which had them sitting 8th in the NFL. Atlanta yielded a total of 2,009 yards via the ground game (118.2 yards/game) and 11 touchdowns by way of the ground game over the course of last season. Last season, they relinquished 373 total points. Their defense earned 16 turnovers (8 fumbles and 8 picks) during the previous year. The Falcons defense participated in 1,090 plays, which had them sitting 22nd in football. The Falcons surrendered 21.9 points per game, which had them ranked 18th in the league.

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

Josh's Pick: Take the Steelers +3.0

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