Steelers
vs.
Lions
Week 8
NFL Pick
10/29/17
This Sunday night we are treated to a non-Conference match-up between a Steelers team that has legit Super Bowl aspirations and the Lions, who need a win to stay in the playoff picture. The Steelers have won two in a row and three of their last Four Games and their D has only allowed a total of 27 points in their last two Games. Pittsburgh is at 5-2 and they are the only team in the AFC North that has a winning record.
At 5dimes sportsbook the Steelers are the 2.5-point favorites with a total of 45.5.
The Lions have lost two in a row and in their last Game they GAve up 52 points, but have had a bye week to think about their loss. While Detroit does rank 8th in the league in ppg averaging 26.8 ppg, they do not rank in the top 25 in the league in rushing yards per Game or points against per Game. They need a win in this Game to keep pace with the Minnesota Vikings, who are 5-2 in the NFC North.
These teams have not met since the 2013 season.
In their last Game the Steelers beat the Cincinnati Bengals 29-14 where they out-GAined CiNCy 420 yards to 179 yards and shut them out in the 2nd half. They also forced two turnovers and had 21 first downs while the Bengals only had 11. Ben Roethlisberger passed for 224 yards and he was not sacked oNCe and star WR Antonio Brown led five players that had at least 37 receiving yards with 65 of them and he also caught a TD. Le’Veon Bell rushed for 134 yards and in the previous Game he rushed for 179 yards. He will be facing a Detroit defense that ranks 6th in the league against the run, but did give up 193 rushing yards in their last Game.
The Lions need to get over their last Game where they put up 38 points, but still lost to the New Orleans Saints 52-38. The Saints did not have a massive number of yards (379), but the Lions had five turnovers and continually GAve Drew Brees and the Saints a short field to work with, which they cannot do in this Game.
Matthew Stafford did pass for 312 yards with 3 TD against the Saints, but was picked off 3 times, had a completion percentage of less than 50%, and did not get much help from the run Game with only 66 rushing yards. Marvin Jones Jr. and Golden Tate each had 96 receiving yards and each had a score, but the Lions cannot only rely on Stafford, as they need to run the ball. Ameer Abdullah rushed for 54 yards in the loss to New Orleans averaging 3.9 yards per carry and he has not averaged Four yards per carry in three of his last Four Games iNCluding his last two.
Pittsburgh has the top-ranked pass defense in the league while their run D only ranks 20th.
The Steelers are 7-3 ATS in their last 10 home Games, 11-5-1 ATS in their last 17 Games overall, and in their last 26 Games on the road the total has gone Under 20 times.
The Lions are 3-8 ATS in their last 11 Games overall, 1-4 ATS in their last 5 home Games, and in their last 4 home Games the Over record is 4-0.
Jason’s Pick : The Lions are coming off a bye and they are at home, but they have issues running the ball and on D. On the other side of the coin the Steelers are playing well on both sides of the ball and will continue to do so in this Game winning and covering the spread even on the road.