After several months of waiting, the NFL is finally back for the 2015 season. Kicking off on Thursday the 10th of September, where the Pittsburgh Steelers took on the defending champions, in the New England Patriots in what was a tense and explosive match. As players will know, this time the Patriots arose victorious from this epic kick off match which finished with a final score of Patriots 28-21 Steelers. Obviously this was not the ideal result for the Steelers. But this doesn’t need to paint their performance for the entire season. Therefore, we would like to investigate; what are the Steelers’ odds for the rest of the season?
First of all, let’s look at what the experts think. When looking at predictions for favourites to win this season of the Super Bowl, the Steelers do not appear once. Instead, bookmakers predict a win for the Seattle Seahawks, the Indianapolis Colts, the Green Bay Packers and the New England Patriots. However, the Steelers odds are not abysmal, with their win total line sitting at 8.5. Considering that this is the same as their win total line last year, which they surpassed at 11-5, then there is a good chance that they can do well. The main problem facing the Steelers is that, compared to last season, they have far weaker ratings in their linebacker and their defensive line as well as in the secondary.
In addition, some of their best players will be out of the competition for several games – Pouncey, playing center, looks likely to miss around 10 weeks, whilst RB Bell will not be available for the first two games and WR Bryant has been suspended for four games. These misfortunes have meant that despite the Steelers’ talent, they are arguably playing one of their toughest seasons – and certainly, of all the teams playing in this NFL, they probably have the most challenges to overcome. Therefore, whilst fans might sleep better knowing that any losses are not actually a reflection on the Steelers’ talents as a team, sports betting fans might not want to blow all of their cash on predicting them for a win.
Another good indicator to check out is the performance of the team during previous games. As we know, the Steelers lost their first game to the Patriots, but what about the preseason games taking place in previous months. It’s probably important to note that the Steelers lost 4 out of 5 of their last games. This included a devastating 6-23 loss to the Carolina Panthers on September the 3rd. Of course, this loss was something of an anomaly for the Steelers, whose average score overall ranks at 21, so hopefully they will have sorted out some of the issues which took place during that game. It is, however, still something to bear in mind during your bet. What’s more, in the last 5 games the total has gone under in 4 of them, so this will also affect the match and the league outcome.
Certainly the Steelers are facing a lot of adversity. However, it’s not all bad news for fans. Of the eight super bowls which the team has participated in, the Steelers have won six. The most recent of these was in 2009, where they beat the Arizona Cardinals by 27 points to 23. These are some very good results and indicates that the Steelers could well have the talent and determination to pull through.
Overall, it is very difficult to tell at this point who will win the current football season, and this article can only really be a rough guide. If you fancy making a bet on this season, so can do so at a bookmakers or on an online sports betting site. These sites often offer other kinds of gambling as well – for example, you can find new casinos online out there. Most of all, make sure you enjoy the new season and have plenty of fun.
