Oakland Raiders at Pittsburgh Steelers Betting Preview
Opening Line: Steelers -7.5
Total Odds: 41.5
While it is no surprise the Steelers (6-3) are atop the AFC North it is a surprise that the Raiders (5-4) are in 1st place in the AFC West. Both teams are tied in 1st place in their respective divisions so this AFC match up is an important one for both and one that may show if the Raiders are for real. The Raiders have won 3 in a row and QB Jason Campbell is starting to play like Oakland hoped he would when he came over from Washington in the off-season. Pittsburgh is coming off a tough home loss to the Patriots, who tore apart their suspect secondary.
In their last games the Steelers lost to the New England Patriots 39-26 and the Raiders had a bye last week, but in the previous week beat the Kansas City Chiefs 23-20.
This season the Raiders have been solid betting teams going 6-3 ATS and the Steelers are 5-4 ATS. As odd as it sounds the Raiders may be the smart betting option in this game, as they are 4-0 ATS in their last 4 road games as an underdog and the Steelers are only 1-5-1 ATS in their last 7 games as a home favorite.
Jason Campbell has played well since being benched and having to come in because of injury to Bruce Gradkowski and in the Kansas City win he was 229 yards with 1 TD and 1 INT. The key match up in this game is the Raiders and their 2nd ranked rushing offense facing the Steelers and their top-ranked rushing defense. RB Darren McFadden is 7th in the league in rushing yards and Pittsburgh and their run D will be his toughest test of the season. The main problem with the Steelers' defense this season in their pass defense, which only ranks 26th in the league and in the loss to the Patriots gave up 350 passing yards.
Coming into the New England game the Steelers were running the ball well, but their aerial attack was not very strong. That was reversed the game, as Ben Roethlisberger passed for 349 yards with 3 TD and 1 INT, but the Steelers only rushed for 76 yards. Pittsburgh will look to establish the run in this game with RB Rashard Mendenhall, as the Raiders rushing defense only ranks 24th in the league while their pass defense ranks 2nd.
In some other betting trends for this AFC game:
Oakland is 5-0 ATS in their last 5 games, 5-2 ATS in their last 7 road games, and has an Over record of 5-2 in their last 7 road games.
Pittsburgh is 0-4 ATS in their last 4 games against teams with a winning record, 2-5-1 ATS in their last 8 home games, and has an Over record of 4-1 in their last 5 games.
The Raiders have covered the spread in 4 of their last 5 games against the Steelers.
Our Selection : The Steelers have problems on both sides of the line. They get a bit more healthy this week, but will still be without some of their key lineman. Look for the Raiders to be able to run just enough to keep this game close.
Take the Raiders +7.5 5Dimes.com.