How long has it been since the Pittsburgh Steelers were getting points in sports betting NFL odds when they were at home? The Steelers have not been home underdogs in Internet sports betting since 2008 when they were a 2.5 point underdog to Jacksonville in the Wild Card round of the playoffs. Usually the Steelers get a lot of respect but they are probably going to be underdogs in Week 1 of the NFL season.
Sports betting odds list the Steelers as home underdogs in their season opener against the Atlanta Falcons. The Falcons are 1.5 point favorites at Pittsburgh in Week 1. The Steelers will be without starting quarterback Ben Roethlisberger who will miss at least the first four weeks of the season due to suspension. The Steelers would have been favored in this game if Big Ben was playing but with either Byron Leftwich or Dennis Dixon at quarterback, the Steelers are not as good.
It has been even longer since the Steelers were a regular season home underdog. They were underdogs in Internet sports betting against the Jaguars back in 2008 in the playoffs but it has been a lot longer since they were a home dog during the regular season. You have to go back to 2004 when they were a one-point underdog against the Philadelphia Eagles. It should be noted that the Steelers won that game handily by a score of 27-3. The Steelers also covered the sports betting point spread in that playoff game against the Jaguars.
Even though Pittsburgh has not been a home dog since 2004 they are going to be underdogs in their first two home games this season. They are underdogs against the Falcons and it is almost a certainty they will be underdogs in Week 4 when they host the Baltimore Ravens. The Ravens are considered a stronger team than Atlanta so it seems likely they will be favored against the Steelers in sports betting odds.
Once the Steelers get Ben Roethlisberger back it is likely they will be favored again in their home games in sports betting. Depending upon their record though, they could be a home dog later in the season against New England or the New York Jets but it is way too early to determine what the records of those two teams will be.