The Pittsburgh Steelers survived and won against the NFL betting odds in Week 1 without quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. They will have to get by for another three weeks without him and for Week 2 they are sticking with Dennis Dixon. The Steelers won 15-9 last week in overtime against the Atlanta Falcons and covered the NFL odds even though Dixon didn’t do much.Dixon was 18 of 26 for 236 yards last week and he did throw an interception. It was not a bad performance but nothing special either. The Steelers won thanks to their defense holding down the Falcons.
Pittsburgh a 5-point underdog at Tennessee – The Steelers is underdogs this week as they travel to Tennessee. The Steelers were able to win their home opener but they face a tougher test against Chris Johnson and the Titans. Winning at home with a backup quarterback is one thing but winning on the road is another story. Dixon could be in for a rough game on Sunday.
Bettors Still Wary about Taking Pittsburgh – The bettors at SBG really don’t want anything to do with Pittsburgh until Ben Roethlisberger returns. They didn’t like them last week against the Falcons (that turned out to be a mistake) and they don’t like them this week at Tennessee. It should be noted that the Steelers are 3-7 ATS in their last 10 road games. And the Steelers have been horrible in the second week of the season. The Steelers are 2-8-1 ATS in their last 11 games in Week 2. On top of all that, the Titans are 10-2 ATS in their last 12 games in September.
This Series has Been High Scoring – You would think that when the Steelers and their tough defense faces the Titans that the games would go over the NFL betting odds. Well, that is not the case. Six of the last eight meetings have gone over the total. Also keep in mind that the last four Tennessee home games have all gone over. The last four meetings between the Steelers and Titans in Tennessee have gone over the total. It is tough taking a game to go over with a backup quarterback but the trends for Pittsburgh and Tennessee point to a high scoring game.