Tennessee Titans (13-3 SU, 12-3-1 ATS in 2008) at Pittsburgh Steelers (12-4 SU, 9-7 ATS in 2008)
Thursday, September 10 – 8:30 PM ET
BetUS NFL betting odds: PITTSBURGH -6, Total 35
In the BetUS NFL football betting odds, the Steelers are listed as a six-point favorite, with a posted total of 35 points.
Here are some NFL football betting trends as they relate to this matchup:
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TENN is 12-4-1 ATS in its last 17 games
TENN has won 13 of its last 17 games SU
TENN has won and covered six of its last eight road games
TENN has played four of its last five road games UNDER the total
PITT has covered seven of its last nine games
PITT has won nine of its last ten games SU
PITT has played four of its last five games OVER the total
PITT has won its last six home games SU
PITT has covered its last six home games
PITT has played eight of its last 12 home games OVER the total
Also…
PITT has covered six of the last nine meetings
ENN has won four of the last five meetings SU
Six of the last seven meetings have gone OVER the total
PITT has covered ten of the last 14 meetings as the home team 
PITT has won 15 of the last 23 games SU as the home team
TENN has won four of the last six meetings SU as the road team
Seven of the last eight games in Pittsburgh have gone OVER the total
Pittsburgh was relatively rough on opposing offenses at Heinz Field in the second half of the season, allowing 71 points in the last six games. Obviously the Steelers were ranked #1 in the NFL in defense last year, which made for soem favorable football betting on their side, and the major components are all back for the team, including James Harrison, the Associated Press defensive player of the year.
The same really can’t be said about the Tennessee Titans, who lost the All-Pro defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth in the off-season, when he signed with Washington. Haynesworth’s importance was so obvious to this defensive line, as he made the Titans an easier team to run on when he was absent with injust. Undoubtedly the Steelers are going to try to attack that with a “committee” at running back that includes what they hope will be a healthy Rashard Mendenhall, who’s going to take the burden off Willie Parker.
The difference in the football betting analysis here is that Tennessee and its coaching staff have had lots of time to prepare for life without Haynesworth, and this team has had a culture of being able to establish itself at the line of scrimmage. For example, in last year’s meeting, where the Titans won 31-14 to secure home field advantage in the playoffs, Tennessee held Pittsburgh to just three yards a rush, and Haynesworth wasn’t in the game.
Lawrence Timmons, who was replacing Larry Foote at linebacker, is suffering from a high ankle sprain, which will push Keyaron Fox into the starting role. Parker is dealing with a hamstring injury. Only one team gained more than 300 yards against the Steelers last year, and that was this Titan team, which manages to do a good job avoiding turnovers and can throw some genuine breakaway speed at Pittsburgh in the person of Chris Johnson (1228 yards, 4.9 ypc last year), who shocked even football betting experts last year with his blazing speed.
A new arrival among a generally non-threatening group of receivers is Nate Washington, who spent last year with the Super Bowl champs and caught 40 passes. He’s got his own hamstring problem and they hope he can play. His absence would leave it up to rookie Kenny Britt from Rutgers to start the game.
Certainly Pittsburgh is looking for a little revenge here, but the Titans happen to have one of the league’s best and most resourecful coaching staffs, even after the departure of defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz to Detroit. We’re going to take the points with Tennessee, a very good road team and the six-point underdog in the BetUS NFL pro football betting odds.
One reply on “Week 1 Titans vs. Steelers NFL Predictions”
I’m confident the Steelers will win this game outright. They have been extremely good on opening day and the Super Bowl Champion has won the last five of these opening day games. The question is will they cover. The last few games against these two have not been close so I also take the Steelers to cover.