The Pittsburgh Steelers descend on Highmark Stadium for a scintillating showdown with the Buffalo Bills, marking Sunday’s early slate of week 1 NFL betting action.
By all accounts, it’s the marquee billing to spot as both teams come into the 2021-22 NFL season with high expectations and the premium on the win couldn’t be greater. So, who will win? Will it be the highly fancied Bills? Or, will the underrated Steelers defy the NFL odds? Oddmakers tip the balance in favour of the Buffalo Bills wholeheartedly. They are the whopping -280 home favorites on the money-line while, at the same time, they’re laying 6.5-points to the Steelers.
But books don’t always get it right. And if there’s one thing the Steelers under Mike Tomlin have proven time and time again, it’s they’re not a side to trifle with or take lightly. In fact, the Steelers may well be the value bet here, despite these hefty NFL odds that stack the game conspicuously against them across all markets Why? Find out in this betting preview, complete with predictions and choice NFL picks.
Sunday, September 12, 2021, 1:00 PM EDT at Highmark Stadium
The Pittsburgh Steelers are flush of winning the AFC North title, but books are taking a rather dim view of their prospects in the upcoming season. Focusing on the manner in which the Steelers faded down the stretch and were dumped out of the playoffs by the Cleveland Browns rather than their account in its entirety which delivered a 12-5-0 record to clinch the division.
It was a trying season for the Steelers in many ways, but they persevered admirably. Mike Tomlin’s side went undefeated through the first 11 games, sweeping the Ravens and beating the Titans along the way amongst several others. However, the last five games of the season resulted in a 1-4-0 record and that didn’t provide good optics. During that stretch, the Steelers were beaten by Washington, Buffalo, Cincinnati and Cleveland. The only win came at the expense of the Indianapolis Colts, 28-24.
Whatever it was that ailed the Steelers down the stretch followed them into the offseason as they lost to the Cleveland Browns 48-37 in the wild card round. It’s a brand new season for the Steelers and expectations within the organisation are high, even though bookies tip the Steelers are the third-best bet in the AFC North to clinch the divisional title while placing the Steelers, at the same time, just on the cusp of the Top 10 bets in SBLVI betting. Although with NFL futures odds of +4500 to win Super Bowl 56, the Steelers are giving off “pretender” vibes. This dissenting view carries over into week 1 where the Steelers are at the significant disadvantage and catching almost a touchdown in point-spread betting markets.
It was a banner season for Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills as they clinched the AFC East title for the first-time in forever and carried the momentum through the playoffs and all the way to the AFC Championship game, where they were defeated by the Kansas City Chiefs. The Bills went into a week 11 bye with a 7-3-0 record which was solid by most standards. However, following the bye week, they reeled off six straight wins to finish their campaign with a stellar 13-3-0 record and the No.2 seed in the playoffs.
The 2020 playoffs marked the first time that only the No.1 seed received a bye into the divisional round. So, the Bills began their postseason campaign in the wildcard round. They beat the Colts 27-24 and the Ravens 17-3 before losing to the Chiefs 38-24 in the AFC Championship game. Now, with the bar set high, the Bills are faced with the pressure of replicating their previous campaign’s success and, even, going one better. Undoubtedly, Sean McDermott’s Bills present an intriguing prospect for NFL bettors to consider as the third-best bet in Super Bowl betting.
Bookies are clearly optimistic about their chances. But if there’s a knockback, it’s the fact that this instalment of the Bills has never faced such a situation before. Josh Allen has shown progress, development and maturation over his first three years in the NFL. That quality is definitely encouraging and bodes well for continued growth and improvement. However, this is the first time the bar is as high as it is and the expectations are as big as they are. Those things combined have seen many a quarterback falter.
The Pittsburgh Steelers were the best team in the NFL last season, until they weren’t. The Bills started off as a good team and then they went on to be a great team. Both sides had plenty of positives to take from 2020 therefore, providing a solid foundation for the upcoming season. It won’t surprise anyone if the Steelers and Bills are good or, even, great again this season.
That in of itself makes this matchup a right tossup for NFL picks. Whichever way one slices the best bet to win this game, there’s value to be had on both sides of the coin. And nowhere more so, arguably, than with the Steelers in point spread betting markets. Six-and-a-half points is a lot to give the Steelers. Mike Tomlin is one of the best coaches in the NFL. He’s had this game on his radar ever since the NFL schedule was released.
So, expecting the Steelers to be better than the oddsmakers would have them is reasonable. That they would also give the Bills a run for their money in this much anticipated week 1 NFL showdown is also well within reasonable expectations. As such, the Steelers are the value NFL pick here to cover at the very least, if not win.
NFL Pick: Steelers +6.5 (-105) with Intertops (visit our Intertops Review)
NFL Pick: Steelers +240 with Intertops
*The line and/or odds on picks in this article might have moved since the content was commissioned. For updated line movements, visit BMR’s free betting odds product.