How to bet Baltimore-Pittsburgh
NFL VEGAS EXPERTS
ESPN INSDER
ESPN Chalk's NFL Vegas experts (Phil Steele, Erin Rynning, Warren Sharp and Mike Clay) are here to provide analysis and best bets for Sunday night's tilt between the Baltimore Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers. John Parolin of ESPN Stats & Information breaks down the best prop bets.
Note: Odds courtesy of the Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook as of Friday afternoon.
Baltimore Ravens at Pittsburgh Steelers (-4.5)
Total: 44
PickCenter: 52 percent on Baltimore
Phil Steele
The Steelers return to Heinz Field on short rest following a comeback victory (trailed 17-3 at halftime) last Monday against the Cincinnati Bengals, while the Ravens head on the road following an offensive outburst against the Detroit Lions featuring a season-best 44 points and 370 yards. Despite a devastating injury to linebacker Ryan Shazier and a suspension of wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster, I'll go ahead and call for the Steelers to earn the season sweep of the Ravens (17-point win, 381-288 yard edge back in Week 4) in this one as they prepare for the key AFC showdown against the New England Patriots next weekend.
ATS pick: Lean on Pittsburgh
Erin Rynning
It's a delicate situation for the Steelers off their physically taxing Monday night affair against the Bengals. They've also definitely been peeking ahead to next week's matchup against the Patriots. The Ravens finally broke out last week with a performance to back up their record, but this is a team that's mightily injury-plagued. The Steelers simply rate as the superior team.
Pick: Pass
Warren Sharp
The Ravens are 4-1 in their past five games, while the Steelers are on a seven-game win streak. A big question mark in this game is the health of Ravens receiver Jeremy Maclin, who was limited in practice on Wednesday, but was then downgraded on Thursday and didn't practice. Joe Flacco has targeted Maclin at least five times in every game since Week 1.
While both defenses are better against the pass than the run, both pass defenses lost starters in their back-seven last week. The Steelers have played seven straight games against pass defenses which rank outside the top 15, and the Ravens rank as the second best. Baltimore is also considerably fresher, considering the physicality of the Steelers' game against the Bengals last week.
ATS pick: Lean on Baltimore
Mike Clay
Prediction: Pittsburgh 23, Baltimore 17
Pick: Under 44 total points
John Parolin's prop bets
85.5 rushing yards by Le'Veon Bell (O/U -110)
Back in Week 4, Bell and the Steelers ran all over the Ravens. Bell notched 144 yards on 35 rushes, exploiting a soft Baltimore front for a season high in rush attempts. It was also 13 more than he's had in any other Ravens game in his career, a deviation from his usual workload in these traditionally close games. Why wouldn't Bell repeat his performance in Week 14? One 6-foot-1, 340-pound reason named Brandon Williams. The Ravens' nose tackle missed Weeks 3-6 this season with a foot injury, and his presence makes all the difference for the Baltimore defense. When Williams is on the field, the Ravens are allowing 3.6 yards per rush this year, a figure that would rank sixth in the NFL as a stand-alone total and equates to a half-yard less than Baltimore allowed without him (4.1). While Bell is the league's leading rusher, he's also only averaging 3.9 yards per rush this season. Averaging his 3.9 with Baltimore's 3.6 with Williams on the field gets us 3.75 yards per rush. For Bell to hit 86 rushing yards at 3.75 per rush, he would need 23 rushes. In eight career games against the Ravens, Bell has had 23 rushes just once, that Week 4 game when Williams wasn't on the field.
Pick: Under
NFL VEGAS EXPERTS
ESPN INSDER
ESPN Chalk's NFL Vegas experts (Phil Steele, Erin Rynning, Warren Sharp and Mike Clay) are here to provide analysis and best bets for Sunday night's tilt between the Baltimore Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers. John Parolin of ESPN Stats & Information breaks down the best prop bets.
Note: Odds courtesy of the Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook as of Friday afternoon.
Baltimore Ravens at Pittsburgh Steelers (-4.5)
Total: 44
PickCenter: 52 percent on Baltimore
Phil Steele
The Steelers return to Heinz Field on short rest following a comeback victory (trailed 17-3 at halftime) last Monday against the Cincinnati Bengals, while the Ravens head on the road following an offensive outburst against the Detroit Lions featuring a season-best 44 points and 370 yards. Despite a devastating injury to linebacker Ryan Shazier and a suspension of wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster, I'll go ahead and call for the Steelers to earn the season sweep of the Ravens (17-point win, 381-288 yard edge back in Week 4) in this one as they prepare for the key AFC showdown against the New England Patriots next weekend.
ATS pick: Lean on Pittsburgh
Erin Rynning
It's a delicate situation for the Steelers off their physically taxing Monday night affair against the Bengals. They've also definitely been peeking ahead to next week's matchup against the Patriots. The Ravens finally broke out last week with a performance to back up their record, but this is a team that's mightily injury-plagued. The Steelers simply rate as the superior team.
Pick: Pass
Warren Sharp
The Ravens are 4-1 in their past five games, while the Steelers are on a seven-game win streak. A big question mark in this game is the health of Ravens receiver Jeremy Maclin, who was limited in practice on Wednesday, but was then downgraded on Thursday and didn't practice. Joe Flacco has targeted Maclin at least five times in every game since Week 1.
While both defenses are better against the pass than the run, both pass defenses lost starters in their back-seven last week. The Steelers have played seven straight games against pass defenses which rank outside the top 15, and the Ravens rank as the second best. Baltimore is also considerably fresher, considering the physicality of the Steelers' game against the Bengals last week.
ATS pick: Lean on Baltimore
Mike Clay
Prediction: Pittsburgh 23, Baltimore 17
Pick: Under 44 total points
John Parolin's prop bets
85.5 rushing yards by Le'Veon Bell (O/U -110)
Back in Week 4, Bell and the Steelers ran all over the Ravens. Bell notched 144 yards on 35 rushes, exploiting a soft Baltimore front for a season high in rush attempts. It was also 13 more than he's had in any other Ravens game in his career, a deviation from his usual workload in these traditionally close games. Why wouldn't Bell repeat his performance in Week 14? One 6-foot-1, 340-pound reason named Brandon Williams. The Ravens' nose tackle missed Weeks 3-6 this season with a foot injury, and his presence makes all the difference for the Baltimore defense. When Williams is on the field, the Ravens are allowing 3.6 yards per rush this year, a figure that would rank sixth in the NFL as a stand-alone total and equates to a half-yard less than Baltimore allowed without him (4.1). While Bell is the league's leading rusher, he's also only averaging 3.9 yards per rush this season. Averaging his 3.9 with Baltimore's 3.6 with Williams on the field gets us 3.75 yards per rush. For Bell to hit 86 rushing yards at 3.75 per rush, he would need 23 rushes. In eight career games against the Ravens, Bell has had 23 rushes just once, that Week 4 game when Williams wasn't on the field.
Pick: Under
