Jaguars vs. Steelers Prediction
Can the Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Jacksonville Jaguars by more than a touchdown when the two AFC foes meet up today at 1PM ET?
According to oddsmakers at Bovada.lv, the Steelers are favored at home in this game, as Pittsburgh is getting odds of -7.5 points against the Jaguars. The over/under total for the contest has been listed at 43 points. Pittsburgh has won three straight meetings with the Jags and the Steelers have covered the spread in three of the last four meetings. Today’s game takes place from Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and will air live on CBS.
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Jacksonville fell to 2-2 on the season with a 23-20 OT loss to the Jets last week. The Jags also 2-2 against the spread, covering in both wins. The Jags have had some good defensive performances this year, giving up just 18.5 points per game. However, their run defense is allowing 165.5 yards per contest. The unit does have 18 sacks and 10 turnovers. On offense, Jacksonville averages 27.3 points and 331.8 yards per game. They have run the ball well behind Leonard Fournette, who has 285 yards and three scores. Blake Bortles is adding 732 passing yards with seven touchdowns and three interceptions.
Pittsburgh is coming off a 26-9 win over the Ravens last week to improve to 3-1 on the season. Pittsburgh is also 2-2 against the spread on the season, but 1-0 ATS at home. Their offense is putting up just 22.5 points and 334.3 yards per game right now. Last Sunday saw Antonio Brown and Ben Roethlisberger have a slight war of words after a blowup on the sideline from Brown. Brown is actually having a good year, as he has 30 catches for 388 yards. However, Big Ben has thrown for just 957 yards with six touchdowns and two interceptions. Le’Veon Bell had a big game last week and has 324 rushing yards with three touchdowns in 2017. Martavis Bryant was a late addition to the injury report this week due to an illness. He is questionable for today’s game. Defensively, the Steelers are allowing only 14.8 points and 294.3 yards per game right now.
Will last week’s dust up carry over into today’s game? I don’t think so. In fact, I think it will only lead to a stronger performance. Brown will be a continued factor in the offense and things will run smoothly against a Jacksonville defense that can go from good to bad very quickly. Pittsburgh looked strong at home a few weeks ago and Big Ben is a much better QB at Heinz Field. Go with the Steelers to cover.
NFL WEEK 5 PREDICTION: PITTSBURGH STEELERS -7.5