The Steelers take on the New England Patriots this week, and Pittsburgh looks like the favorite – it’s favored by 76 percent of users in Yahoo’s pick ‘em leagues. Sportsbooks, meanwhile, give the Steelers a five-point edge. It’s hard to argue with that – the Pats have a 6-2 record, but they’re coming off an embarrassing loss to the Cleveland Browns that resulted in Cleveland’s Peyton Hillis being named the AFC Offensive Player of the Week. The Patriots’ offense and defense both looked out of sorts, and the Patriots also just lost kicker Stephen Gostkowski for the season.
The Steelers have had their share of injuries too, most recently tackle Max Starks. But their only loss since the return of Ben Roethlisberger has come against a tough Saints team in a very loud road environment. They also handily beat the Browns just a couple of weeks ago. This time they’ll be at home, facing a team coming off its worst game of the year. Clearly, it’s possible that the Patriots will rebound, but I would take the Steelers in this one.