The Pittsburgh Steelers have been winning ugly through the first two weeks of the season, and they will try to keep it rolling as solid home favorites on Sunday when they host the winless Houston Texans.
- Date/Time: September 27, 1 p.m. ET
- Stadium: Heinz Field
- TV Coverage: CBS
- Sportsbook Odds: Steelers -5 | O/U 47.5 (Line History)
- Texans vs Steelers Matchup Report
Sportsbook Odds Analysis
The point spread has surprisingly dropped to Pittsburgh -3.5 in early betting so far even though the team is playing at home against an inferior Houston squad. The Steelers dominated the Denver Broncos last week at home but let them hang around and cover the spread, so maybe the thinking of bettors is that the Texans are better and might pull off the upset. The coaching matchup definitely favors Pittsburgh, though, and it will be interesting to see if sharps take the home favorite at some point, driving the number back up to -4 or higher.
Houston News & Notes
Houston just cannot seem to move past last year’s embarrassing playoff loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, when the team blew a 24-0 lead and lost 51-31 to the eventual Super Bowl champions.
The hangover from that setback is real, and trading away one of the top wide receivers in the NFL probably was not the best idea either. The loss of DeAndre Hopkins to the Arizona Cardinals has hurt quarterback Deshaun Watson and his ability to make plays down the field.
In addition, facing the Chiefs again along with the Baltimore Ravens in the first two weeks definitely has not helped the Texans build any confidence. Running back David Johnson was acquired in the deal for Hopkins and has provided a nice weapon out of the backfield, but Watson’s receivers remain solid at best.
Pittsburgh News & Notes
The Steelers have been playing Steelers football through the first two games, letting the defense do its thing and not forcing quarterback Ben Roethlisberger to do too much. That is the main reason Pittsburgh is 2-0 right now, and this team will likely stay unbeaten as long as that remains the case.
The Steelers know they made the right decision in letting running back Le’Veon Bell walk away a few years ago, as his replacement James Conner has been better than expected.
Conner fueled the offense with 106 yards on 16 carries and a touchdown last week in a 26-21 win over Denver, also Sportsbook up the passing game for Roethlisberger (311 yards and two scores). With that kind of balanced offense, Pittsburgh will be tough for anyone to beat.
Betting Pick: UNDER 45
While the Steelers did allow the Broncos to score 21 points, that game looked like an UNDER for most of it. The Texans certainly have the potential to explode offensively, but not against this defense. Houston will be hard pressed to score 20 points, and Pittsburgh might struggle to hit that number as well in what will be a low-scoring affair.
- The UNDER is 8-2 in Pittsburgh’s last 10 games.
- Houston is 0-4 SU and ATS in its last 4 games as an underdog.
- Pittsburgh is 1-4 ATS in its last 5 September home games.
