The Pittsburgh Steelers and Denver Broncos get the NFL betting spotlight all to themselves on Sunday night in a game set to be televised on Fox. The Steelers are two-point favorites at Sbg Global. With the game being in prime time the total may also be worth an NFL bet and it is listed at 36.
NFL betting odds favor the Steelers in this game which is somewhat surprising considering they are the road team. Denver has played well in the preseason and they are starting to get some of their injured players back.
The Steelers have also looked good but they have a decision to make on their starting quarterback with Ben Roethlisberger out for the first four regular season games.
Leftwich or Dixon? The Steelers have to decide whether they want to go with Byron Leftwich or Dennis Dixon. Last week was a good one for Leftwich and some people believe he has the edge.
This game will be Dixon’s chance to shine as he is expected to get extensive work with the first team. It is also possible Roethlisberger will see action with the first unit.
Kyle Orton: Quick, who leads the league in touchdown passes in the preseason? If you came up with Kyle Orton give yourself a gold star. Orton has looked as good as any quarterback in the preseason. The spotlight in Denver has been on rookie Tim Tebow but Orton is the starting quarterback and that is not likely to change anytime soon.
Why is Pittsburgh Favored? The question you have to ask when you make an NFL bet on this game is why is Pittsburgh favored? The Broncos have said that they are going to play their starters into the third quarter in this contest. Orton has been superb so far in the preseason and Pittsburgh has a merry go round at quarterback.
The Broncos will go with Brady Quinn after Orton finishes his time in the third quarter and Quinn might play the rest of the game depending upon whether the Broncos want to risk Tebow. He just returned to practice on Thursday as he recovers from bruised ribs. Another option to consider is taking Denver in the first half.
The Denver first string has played well, the Broncos are at home and the Steelers are going to have Dixon at quarterback for much of the first half.