Although the Pittsburgh Steelers are coming off a nationally televised loss to Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos, and the New York Jets laughed through a blowout victory in their Week 1 matchup, the Steelers are the team favored by nearly a touchdown in Sunday's matchup between the two.
The Jets were the butt of jokes league-wide when they only scored one touchdown in four preseason games despite a media frenzy surrounding the team's two quarterbacks, Mark Sanchez and Tim Tebow. While a 48-point outburst in Week 1 may have quieted some, they still have a lot to prove to be considered on the Steelers' level. Sanchez is no Manning, and while Tebow was the one on the field when Denver beat Pittsburgh last season in the playoffs, he was a non-factor Sunday, with no passing attempts and rushing the ball for only 11 yards out of the team's much ballyhooed Wildcat formation. Pittsburgh's defense will be expected to win the day, thus the respect from oddsmakers.
Here's how the lines stand as of Thursday:
Opening line: Pittsburgh -6.5
Current line: Pittsburgh -6
Money lines: Pittsburgh -250, New York +210
Over/under: 41.5
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