Pittsburgh Steelers at Houston Texans Line
The defending AFC champion Pittsburgh Steelers are set to invade Houston Sunday, but odds makers believe they may return home with their tail between their legs.
The books currently have the Texans listed as a 3.5-point favorite with the total set at 45.
Since getting stunned at Baltimore in their season opener, the Steelers have responded with a pair of wins. They got all they wanted and more from the winless Indianapolis Colts Sunday night, though.
The Steelers trailed the Colts heading into the fourth quarter and needed a Shaun Suisham field goal with four seconds remaining to prevail 23-20.
Ben Roethlisberger connected on 25 of 37 passes for 364 yards with one touchdown and one interception. Mike Wallace was on the receiving end of five of those completions, including Big Ben’s touchdown pass. Wallace finished the game with 144 receiving yards.
Following back-to-back victories over Indianapolis and Miami, the Texans endured their first loss of the season at New Orleans last Sunday. Houston jumped out to a 10-0 lead and still led through three quarters but ultimately fell 40-33 as it allowed 23 fourth-quarter points.
Matt Schaub completed 22 of 39 throws for 373 yards with three touchdowns and one interception.
Led by Ben Tate, who rushed for 82 yards, the Texans also managed 109 yards on the ground.
Houston entered Week 3 ranked No. 1 in the NFL in both total and scoring defense with 271.0 yards and 10.0 points allowed per game. It now ranks No. 14 in total defense and No. 9 in scoring defense, with 332 yards and 20 points allowed, after giving up 454 yards and 40 points to the Saints.
The defense figures to get a challenge from Pittsburgh’s eighth-ranked passing offense, which averages 294.7 yards per game, this week. It allowed Drew Brees to complete 70.5 percent of his passes for 370 yards last Sunday.
Pittsburgh’s defense once again looks to be among the elite in the NFL. It ranks second in total defense with 263.3 yards allowed per game and seventh in scoring defense with 18.3 points allowed per contest.
The Steelers’ stop unit, however, will likely be tested by the Texans Sunday. Houston ranks seventh in the league in scoring and ninth in total offense with 30 points and 400.7 yards allowed per game.
Pittsburgh has won the last two meetings in this series, both straight up and against the spread, in convincing fashion. The Steelers won the most recent meeting 38-17 at home on Sept. 7, 2008.
They won the last meeting at Houston 27-7 on Sept. 18, 2005.
Looking at some noteworthy trends, we find that the Texans are 5-1-1 against the spread in their last seven games as a favorite of 3.5 to 10 points. We also find that the Steelers have covered the spread eight of the last 11 times they’ve been listed as an underdog.
In regard to the total, the over just might be the play. The Steelers have played to the over in each of their last four road games, each of their last six conference contests and each of their last seven games following a win.
Jimmy Boyd is off to a hot 6-2-1 start with his Sunday NFL plays through the first three weeks of the season. He is on a dominant 34-18-1 run (excludes preseason) on the pro gridiron dating back to last season. Join him again this Sunday for more expert premium picks!