The NFL preseason officially wraps up this weekend with Week 3 and on Thursday, Kenny Pickett and the Pittsburgh Steelers will be looking to stay unbeaten as they head to Georgia to face the Atlanta Falcons at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. The kick-off is set for 7:30 PM ET here. The Black and Gold are 2-0 thus far, notching impressive wins over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Buffalo Bills in recent weeks. The Falcons meanwhile beat the Miami Dolphins in the opener before a 13-13 tie with the Cincinnati Bengals last Friday. Below, find the Steelers vs Falcons picks.
Before we get into the odds, preview, and prediction, check out our NFL betting odds and Super Bowl odds for 2024.
The Steelers are a clear favorite with moneyline odds of -200 for an implied win probability of 66.67%. The Falcons come back at +170 and have been given a 37.04% chance of taking this contest. The spread is favoring Pittsburgh by just 4.5, while the total is set at 38.5 points. In 18 all-time meetings, the Steelers have won 18 against the Falcons, who have a mere two victories to show for it. The other clash was a draw in 2002.
While most of the first-teamers haven’t played a whole lot so far, Pittsburgh has looked solid on both sides of the ball. Mitch Trubisky and Mason Rudolph have taken a lot of the snaps at QB, but Mike Tomlin did say Tuesday that Pickett will see more playing time in the finale. The second-year signal-caller became the starter about mid-way through last season and eventually found a groove, finishing with a 63.3% completion rate, 2,404 passing yards, seven touchdowns, and nine interceptions. Yes, the turnover numbers weren’t great, but he did improve as the campaign came to a close.
What’s even more promising is that Pickett is building fantastic chemistry with his wideouts like George Pickens and Diontae Johnson. Tomlin has been very impressed with his quarterback’s progression and does expect him to take quite the leap in 23′. Pickett made some big plays against the Bills last week, which helped Pittsburgh grab the win.
The Steelers just barely missed out on the playoffs a year ago, and although the AFC North is expected to be competitive with the Browns, Ravens, and Bengals all expected to make noise, Pittsburgh has a chance. There is no shortage of offensive weapons for Pickett, while Najee Harris is a beast on the ground. Defensively, TJ Watt and Cam Heyward are mainstays, and there are lots of others who are capable of shutting down opponents on a weekly basis. Don’t sleep in Pittsburgh. For now, though, the focus will be improving even more and finishing the preseason with a perfect record.
The NFC South isn’t expected to be very good, which means the Falcons could very well win this division. That will come down to just how good Desmond Ridder is as QB1 though along with several others. Atlanta was just 7-10 a year ago and didn’t really shine in any particular category. They only allowed 22.7 points per game but also scored just 21.5. Ridder didn’t take over as the starter until late in the season when Marcus Mariota was benched. He’s now in Philly which means Ridder is the main man.
The most important player for this organization moving forward, however, is probably Bijan Robinson, their first-round pick in the draft back in April. The former Texas Longhorn won the Doak Walker Award, which recognizes the best running back in the nation. Bijan is truly the real deal and showcased what he can be at the NFL level in the Falcons’ game last week, rushing for 20 yards on four carries, including an impressive 12-yard run to begin his career. Robinson might not be the starter right away and will likely share touches with Cordarrelle Patterson and Tyler Allgeier, but it shouldn’t be long until he is the focal point of the offense.
Arthur Smith played most of his starters against the Bengals in Week 2, and with Tomlin planning to put his first-teamers out there on Thursday, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Smith do the same in the finale. Maybe we’ll get to see Robinson a bit more. That’s what Falcons fans want.
Although it’s just preseason, you can’t ignore the Steelers’ track record of success against Atlanta. Hammer the moneyline.
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