Steelers vs Panthers Odds, Spread, Preview: NFL Week 15 Predictions

Steelers vs Panthers matchup preview and current betting lines

It’s been another tough season for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Despite having an elite defensive front, albeit an injury-prone one, their offense continues to rank among the league’s worse, and the fact that Matt Canada continues to have a job should inspire young men to strive for their dreams. Clearly, anyone can do it.

Evidently, Kenny Pickett wasn’t the answer at QB for the Steelers’ struggling offense. But he still gave them a better shot at winning football games than both Mason Rudolph and Mitch Trubisky. Unfortunately, one of them will have to start on Sunday, as Pickett will be out with a concussion.

We find another team with similar woes on the opposite side of the field. The Carolina Panthers have been a mess this season, but for whatever reason, they continue to try and win football games instead of trying and focusing on the upcoming NFL Draft. Ironically, their desire to win will make them losers in the long run.

But after parting ways with most of their good skill players, their head coach, and even their starting quarterback, there’s only so much the Panthers can do until the remainder of the season. Needless to say, this bodes well for one of the ugliest football games you could ever think of.

Players to watch:

George Pickens: Regardless of which mediocre quarterback is throwing him the ball, George Pickens has been quite impressive in his rookie season. This offense is holding him back, as he’s an athletic freak that can make plays left and right.

Sam Darnold: This might as well be Sam Darnold’s last chance to secure a spot as a starter. He’s by no means a good quarterback, but he could be good enough to fool the Carolina Panthers into giving him another opportunity for the upcoming campaign.

Week 15 Predictions: NFL Bet of the week on Steelers vs Panthers

Steelers +2.5

The opening Steelers vs Panthers spread have the home side favored by 2.5 points. Technically, that makes sense because the Pittsburgh Steelers will be with a backup quarterback, and the Carolina Panthers could still win their division, depending on other games.

But as bad as the Steelers have been for most of the season, the Panthers have been even worse. There’s literally nothing good to say about the team except for their resiliency. And Mike Tomlin is the kind of coach you always want to back when he’s an underdog.

Sam Darnold will see ghosts again when he has to face the Steelers’ elite defense. His decision-making is terrible when rushed, and he won’t have a second to blink and try to pick the defense apart with that mediocre offensive line of his.

Once again, we don’t expect either Mason Rudolph or Mitch Trubisky to turn into Payton Manning all of a sudden. But they could both be good-enough game managers to lean on the running game and help the Steelers get their sixth win of the season.

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Under 37.5

The opening Steelers vs Panthers odds have this game sitting at just 37.5 points. That speaks volumes of how terrible the Pittsburgh Steelers have been offensively this season, and it’s not like the Carolina Panthers have been much better.

We’re talking about two bottom-10 offenses right here. The Steelers rank 27th in points per game at just 17.5, while the Panthers are 24th with just 20. Nonetheless, they both rank middle of the pack in terms of points allowed per contest.

Both of those numbers were with their starters behind center, so they could only be worse with their backups. Personnel-wise, they’re both better off just running the football than trying to make plays in the air; it’s just not going to happen.

The Steelers have only scored 20+ points four times this season, and they’ve never scored more than 24. The Panthers have scored 24+ points just three times this season. So, even though 37.5 points may seem like too little, we’d never trust either of these teams to cash in with an over.

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