NFL Football: Las Vegas Raiders VS Pittsburgh Steelers Prediction, Odds and Preview - 12/24/2022

 

Game Time: 8:20 PM ET,  Saturday, December 24th, 2022

Venue:  Acrisure Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Where to Watch:  NFL Network

FanDuel:  Steelers -2.5, O/U 39

BetMGM:  Steelers -2.5, O/U 38.5

PointsBet: Steelers -2.5, O/U 39

Raiders: 6-8, 3rd place AFC West

Steelers: 6-8 4th place, AFC North

An AFC NFL matchup between teams that feel irrelevant.  The loser of this game will definitely be on the outside looking in… while the winner of this game… may still be on the outside looking in. The postseason is a cruel goal with just a few games left in the season.  The Las Vegas Raiders… spent most of this season as the gang who could not shoot straight.  Everything went wrong.  Yet thanks to back to back overtime wins in Weeks 11 and 12… and winning the next 2 of 3 games… The Raiders have a shot at finishing the season a game above .500… They just have to win the next three games straight to do it. Not likely but stranger things have happened.  The storylines around this team will keep swirling… Is Derek Carr on the move?... Should they trade DeVonte Adams for picks and players?... Did they screw up in their most recent coaching hire?  The answers are maybe, maybe, maybe.  The Pittsburgh Steelers are in the same 6-8 boat as the Raiders… yet they feel like the worse team.  Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin is one of the winningest coaches in NFL history.  Since joining the Steelrs in 2007 he has led the team to ten playoff runs, seven division titles, two Super Bowls and one Super Bowl win.  He has never had a losing season.  If his team can win three games in a row?... He still won’t.  But if you have watched the Steelers play this year with an assortment of question marks on the Quarterback depth chart.  It would seem very highly unlikely.  15 seasons as a head coach without a losing season… longest streak like it in the history of the league. It all comes to an end with a loss( the streak, not his job).

The Las Vegas Raiders have won 4 of their last 5 games.  Oddly the only team they lost to during that upswing was the Las Angeles Rams… the worst team on the list.  In their last game they beat the New England Patriots 30-24.  The game was all tied up and headed for overtime when the Patriots lost their minds and tried to execute a crazy pitch in the closing second of regulation… The result was a turnover that became a Raiders TD to finish the game and get a sudden win.  The Raiders lucked out.  In that game QB Derek Carr completed 20 of 38 passes for 231 yards, 3 TDs, and 1 INT.  The Raiders got 93 yards on 22 carries behind their RB Josh Jacobs… a free agent that they may not be able to keep this offseason. WR DeVonte Adams is the best football player on the Raiders team… yet he only caught 4 passes for 28 yards and was not among the three separate Raiders Receivers who caught a TD pass.  

The Pittsburgh Steelers also fall into the too little too late category by winning 3 of their last 4 games to raise their record to near .500 levels.  After a season of suffering game after game the Steelers got their pop too late. The bad news is the Steelers went through this offseason with rookie QB Kenny Pickett who was knocked out of the lineup two games ago from a concussion.  QB Mitch Trubisky, who started the season, retook the job for the time being.  The result is they have no idea if Kenny Pickett is enough at quarterback to keep the job next season…. The Steelers won their last game 24-16 against the Carolina Panthers.  In that game QB Mitch Trubisky completed 17 of 22 passes for 179 yards 0 TD, 0 INT.  The 3 Steelers TDs came off of runs… RB Harris had 24 carries for 86 yards and 1 TD, RB Warren had 11 carries for 38 yards 1 TD… and Trubisky himself got 1 TD on 6 carries for 9 total yards. Steelers WR Diontae Johnson had a 98 yard day on 10 receptions.

Brian Bitler is 78-58  in the last 30 days across all NFL picks for a profit of $14,050 with  BIG Winners everywhere! Get Brian Bitler’s picks!!....  Follow a handicapper soon!  They are available right now at the Shop Picks Page, where you can find all of the Best Bets from our champion sports handicappers.  And stay with BigAl.com for all your favorite sports… MLB, NBA, NFL, NHL, NCAAF, NCAAB.  Remember winning a wager is more fun than making the wager… more profitable too!!

LVR: 6-8, 7-7 ATS, 7-7 O/U, 2-6 on the road.

PIT: 6-8, 7-6-1 ATS, 6-8 O/U, 2-4 in home games.

The Raiders are 11th in scoring with 24.1 points per game, 11th in total yards with 358.1 per game, 13th in passing yards with 231.9 per game, 13th in rushing yards with 126.2 per game.

The Steelers are 27th in scoring with 17.9 points per game, 26th in total yards with 317.9 per game, 24th in passing yards with 201.8 per game, 18th in rushing yards with 116.1 per game.

The Raiders defense is 24th in defense of total yards with 361.6, 26th in defense of passing yards with 244.3 per game allowed, 15th in defense of rushing yards with 117.4 per game allowed, and 23rd in total points allowed with 24.1 per game.

The Steelers defense is 19th in defense of total yards with 347.8 allowed, 24th in defense of passing yards with 238.8 allowed per game, 7th in defense of rushing yards with 109 per game allowed, and 13th in points allowed with 22.1 per game.

Our prediction for Saturday, December 24th is… Steelers 24 - Raiders 17

 

Bet on the Steelers to cover that small spread.  The Steelers are at home… they have a better defense… It will be a very cold weather game…. AND the Steelers have a much better coach.  Plus it will be the night of Franco Harris’s jersey retirement.  The fans will be loud… even while suffering from hypothermia.

 

Don't miss our champion handicappers' Free NFL Picks and Premium Selections every day here at Bigal.com.  Just click on Shop Picks for our Best Bets, or click on Shop Subscriptions to join for a week or a month.  And if you enjoyed this Raiders/Steelers  preview, be sure to bookmark Bigal.com for our daily Game Previews and Predictions.

The Raiders are 3-1 ATS as a road underdog this season.

The Steelers are 11-4 ATS in games where the line is +3 to -3 the last 3 seasons.

Raiders: QB Derek Carr, RB Josh Jacobs, WR Mack Hollins, WR Davante Adams, WR Darren Waller, TE Foster Moreau, LT Kolton Miller, LG Dylan Parham, C Andre James, RG Hroniss Grasu, RT Jermaine Eluemunor

Steelers: QB Mitch Turbisky, RB Najee Harris, WR George Pickens, WR Diontae Johnson, WR Gunner Olszewski, TE Zach Gentry, LT Dan Moore Jr, LG Kevin Dotson, C Mason Cole, RG James Daniels, RT Chukwuma Okorafor

Cloudy, 13*, Humidity 53%, Wind 19 MPH.  The cold wind is blowing.  This is the worst time of the year where bum NFL owners rake in full TV money and still sell tickets to fans… yet the Stadium will be battered by cold winter weather… ultimately ruining the product.  Ruining it for fans, ruining it for TV, ruining it for the gambler… Why do we allow stadiums to not have roofs?... In this day and age?!... Write a congressman.