The AFC looks to be pretty wide open this year, although the dark horse Steelers may now be in trouble as their injury woes start to compound. They will be limping into Sports Authority Field at Mile High to face the Broncos on Sunday, January 17 at 4:40 PM EST on CBS. Given the injuries that the Steelers have to deal with, it’s no real surprise that they are heading there as a 7-point underdog. It should be noted here that the NFL odds for this game may change dramatically as the week progresses and we start to learn who will and won’t be wearing the black and gold this weekend.
Why bet on the Broncos at -7
It has been an odd kind of season for the Denver Broncos, as they managed to snag the #1 seed in the AFC while playing a portion of the season without Peyton Manning at the helm. The Broncos went 5-3 with backup QB Brock Osweiler leading the way, although one of those wins came in the final week of the season when Peyton Manning had to come in and rally the troops in the second half. With Manning starting, the Broncos went 5-3-0 ATS, while Osweiler and the Broncos went 3-5-0 ATS in the final 8 games of the season. It is a very good possibility that it will be Manning who gets the nod this weekend, but we have to remember that he was far from his best in the early part of the season, and you can bet that the Steelers defense will be going after him in a big way as they try to force him into making mistakes.
Why bet on the Steelers at +7
The Steelers medical team are being made to work overtime this season, as it seems Pittsburgh is losing at least one player a game. LeVeon Bell went out for the season early, and then backup running back DeAngelo Williams went down, too. Williams missed the Wild Card game in Cincinnati, and is expected to be out for the Broncos game. Antonio Brown took a wicked head shot in the Bengals game, and it looks as though concussion issues are going to rule him out of this one. Ben Roethlisberger has had injury concerns all season long, and torn ligaments in his throwing arm make his status for this one very doubtful. The Steelers have gone 5-3-0 as an underdog this year, but never with such adversity to overcome.
ATS Betting Prediction
Again, let me remind you to check back into XBet.ag regularly throughout the week, as the odds and lines for this one will move. If I am being asked to pick on the spread at 7 points, then I have to go with the Broncos at this point, as the Steelers are simply too banged up to get the win.
