Pittsburgh Steelers at Denver Broncos Free Point Spread Pick. The 11-6 Pittsburgh Steelers head into the 12-4 Denver Broncos for this AFC Divisional playoff game on the grass of Sports Authority Field Jan 17, 2016. Kick-off is scheduled for 4:40PM ET.
Betting Odds
Point Spread: Denver -7.5
Total line: 41
Pittsburgh won a controversial, mistake-filled brawl with Cincinnati last week as rookie PK Chris Boswell kicked a 35-yard FG with 14 seconds remaining for an 18-16 victory. It was his 4th FG of the game. QB Ben Roethlisberger was 18-31 for 229 yards and a TD but was sacked 3 times and had to leave the game with an injured shoulder. Backup RBs Jordan Todman and Fitzgerald Toussaint combined for 123 yards on 28 carries. WR Martavis Bryant had a 44-yard run and caught an incredible TD pass. The defense had an interception and 3 fumble recoveries, the last setting up the winning FG.
Denver defeated San Diego 27-20 in Week 17 to secure another division title. QB Peyton Manning came off the bench after the offense had committed numerous TOs and led the team on several scoring drives. He has been named the starter for this game but HC Gary Kubiak will make the switch to QB Brock Osweiler (10-6 TD-INT ratio) at the first sign of trouble. RBs Ronnie Hillman and C.J. Anderson combined for 1,583 rushing yards and 12 TDs. WR Demaryius Thomas caught 105 passes for 1,304 yards and 6 TDs. The defense held opponents to 83.6 rushing yards per game and 199.6 ypg through the air. They also had 52 sacks.
Pittsburgh at Denver Betting Trends
Pittsburgh is 3-8 ATS vs. AFC West opponents.
The Steelers are 0-4 ATS in their last 4 playoff games.
Denver is 1-5 ATS in their last 6 playoff games.
The Broncos have recorded 2 overs and 7 unders in their last 9 home games.
Consensus Pick (ATS)
Pittsburgh: 34%
Denver: 66%
Free NFL Pick
The Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger has a shoulder injury and his starting RB DeAngelo Williams and all-world WR Antonio Brown won’t play. So it’s not surprising that the public is all over the Broncos and I’d say that is probably the right side of the line to be on, but no way am I going to lay over a TD in an NFL game, so that takes me to the total. Last week the Bengals were playing a lot of nickel and dime packages against the Steelers opening up the run game for Pittsburgh and they took advantage of that with 167 yards on the ground. That won’t be the case with the Broncos. Last time they met Pittsburgh ran for just 23 yards on 17 carries and while Roethlisberger will have to use the running game to take some of the pressure off I can’t see it being successful. After the Seahawks game the Steelers have played better defense especially in the running game where they held five of their last six opponents to 104 or fewer yards and if they can continue that success today, Manning may find himself under constant pressure. Remember that Manning was only 5 of 9 for 69 yards in relief of Osweiller in Week 17 and hasn’t proven that his foot is not going to be a problem.
Take the UNDER 41
Special thanks to Rich Crew from SportsBettingStats.com for his expert analysis and free pick on this AFC Divisional Round game.
