The Pittsburgh Steelers are on a bye week, but here’s a look ahead at the opening betting odds against the New Orleans Saints for Week 10.
After one of the most disappointing starts to a season for the Pittsburgh Steelers in decades, Mike Tomlin’s team enters their Week 9 bye hanging on by a thread. The dismal 2-6 record has taken the wind right out of the sails for Steelers players, and it’s going to be an incredibly difficult battle to even get back into the hunt.
Because of their abysmal start, Pittsburgh could technically finish the season 7-2 and still miss the playoffs. This would give them a record of 9-8, but we saw that this still wasn’t enough for a team like the Los Angeles Chargers to get into the tournament last season.
Realistically, it’s incredibly naive to believe that the league’s worst offense will suddenly catapult itself into becoming contenders; however, I wouldn’t call it impossible. We have seen some Mike Tomlin teams make a mid-season surge, and the back half of Pittsburgh’s schedule was easier than it was before the bye.
If they are to make any sort of valiant comeback this year, it starts with taking care of business against the New Orleans Saints. While the Steelers are on their bye on this Week 10 matchup won’t occur until November 13th, here’s a look at the early odds for this must-win game for Pittsburgh.
Steelers vs Saints Odds
According to Fanduel Sportsbook, the Pittsburgh Steelers are 3-point underdogs in this Week 10 matchup against an uncommon opponent. They have a moneyline of +124. Over/under point totals have not yet been released.
Despite this game being played at Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh and with two weeks to prepare for the opponent, the Steelers still managed to be underdogs in this contest. This shouldn’t be surprising considering the offensive struggles they’ve had this season. Under the direction of Matt Canada and Kenny Pickett, Pittsburgh’s offense is currently dead last in the NFL in points per game, yards per pass attempt, and yards per play, according to Team Rankings.
If we combine this with the fact that the Saints are coming off a 24-0 game in which they shut out the Las Vegas Raiders, and it’s not hard to see why they are road favorites next week in Pittsburgh.
In my honest opinion, the Steelers need to win this one convincingly and by the hands of Kenny Pickett or they would be better off not winning at all. If the season were to end today, Pittsburgh would own the 4th overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. The Steelers haven’t had a pick inside the top five since taking QB Terry Bradshaw in 1970. In fact, the last time they even had a pick inside the top 10 was in 2000 when they took WR Plaxico Burress 8th overall.
I won’t actively be rooting against the Pittsburgh Steelers on November 13th when they are battling it out against the Saints, but a win won’t mean much if Mike Tomlin’s team looks more or less the same following their Week 9 bye.