The Pittsburgh Steelers are just one-score favorites this week, but an overwhelming amount of experts are taking them over the Philadelphia Eagles.
The Steelers hold a few advantages over the Eagles this Sunday. Pittsburgh has been one of the healthiest teams in the league this year, while Philadelphia has suffered some major injuries in the early going. As a result, just two of Mike Tomlin’s players could be sitting out this Sunday, while a handful of Eagles starters may not take the field.
When it came time for oddsmakers to set the line for this game, it wasn’t surprising to see that the Steelers were 7-point favorites, courtesy of The Action Network. At 3-0, Pittsburgh remains undefeated to begin the year, while Philadelphia earned their first win of the season in Week 4 – advancing to just 1-2-1 on the season.
Despite all of this, the Eagles have had the Steelers number in recent years. In fact, the last time these teams met, Pittsburgh as embarrassed in a 34-3 loss. Even with their slow start to the season, Philadelphia is somehow the sole leader of the NFC East entering Week 5.
Though I’m not surprised to see Pittsburgh favored in this one, I am surprised at the number of experts predicting the Steelers will come away victorious this week. Though the line on the game is just one score, 94 percent of experts are taking Pittsburgh in this contest, according to NFL Pickwatch.
Why experts like the Steelers this week
There are a number of factors we can point to as to why an overwhelming number of experts would be taking Pittsburgh this week. In addition to being one-score favorites, the Steelers are generally healthy, while the Eagles are anything but.
Though most of the players on their injury report from earlier this week could end up seeing the field, starters like Alshon Jeffery, Avonte Maddox, and Rodney McLeod are still up in the air for gameday. In addition, the Eagles already lost two of their top three offensive tackles to IR in Jason Peters and Andre Dillard.
In addition to this, the Steelers are coming off a bye and have had ample time to prepare for this contest. It also doesn’t help that the matchups on Sunday are going to favor the Steelers.
It would have been a difficult enough task for a healthy Eagles offensive line to hold down the fort against Pittsburgh’s defensive front on Sunday. Now they will have to do it without some key players. Former All-Pro right tackle, Lane Johnson, isn’t guaranteed to play either and Eagles fans are not going to want backup Jack Driscoll trying to contain T.J. Watt this weekend.
Philadelphia’s secondary is also banged up, and their linebackers have not performed well in coverage this season. With Ben Roethlisberger finally starting to shake the rust off and with Diontae Johnson returning to the field this week, this matchup should certainly favor the Steelers.
Pittsburgh isn’t guaranteed to win this week, but it’s certainly encouraging to see how many football experts are in their corner. If the Steelers win, it will be the first time since 1979 that they’ve posted a 4-0 record to begin the season.
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