Pittsburgh Steelers vs Carolina Panthers Preview (12/18/22): Betting Odds, Prediction, Depth Chart

The Pittsburgh Steelers visit the Carolina Panthers in Week 15 of the 2022-23 NFL Season. The Steelers are coming off a lifeless loss to the Ravens last week, while the Panthers are coming off an impressive win against the Seahawks. This should be an interesting matchup because both of these teams are still in the running for the playoffs with an outside shot. Let’s take a look at the odds and make some picks and predictions for this game!

Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Carolina Panthers Betting Odds

The Carolina Panthers are 2.5-point home favorites against the Pittsburgh Steelers and are at -140 on the money line. The over/under is also at 38.5. The Panthers being favored here by this much makes sense because they are the home team and there’s a good chance the Steelers won’t have Kenny Pickett. The over/under makes sense too because both of these offenses are okay at best while the defenses are good to very good. This spread may move depending on what the official word is on Kenny Pickett leading up to the game.

Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Carolina Panthers Prediction

The pick: Panthers -2.5

The Carolina Panthers have turned their entire season around after looking like the worst team in the NFL for a stretch at the beginning of the season. The difference has been night and day after Matt Rhule was fired early in the season. There’s been a revolving door at quarterback for the Panthers, but it looks like Sam Darnold is going to be the starter for the rest of the year. He’s played in only two games this season due to injury, but he has the most experience at the position compared to the rest of the Panthers quarterbacks. The rushing offense also hasn’t skipped a beat this year even with the trade of Christian McCaffrey. The Carolina defense is the main strength that’s kept the Panthers afloat this season. Steve Wilks also needs to be commended for what he’s done as the interim coach, that could lead to him being the new coach full-time for the Panthers. The Steelers, on the other hand, were riding high, but now have sank very low after losing last week, and also mainly having their quarterback get a concussion again. With Kenny Pickett most likely out, Mitch Trubisky will be the starter and he’s a very clear step down from Pickett. He does have help in the passing game, with either rookie George Pickens or Diontae Johnson being big playmakers in the receiving corps. The running game has been inconsistent this year too with Najee Harris having a roller coaster year. Take the Panthers here, they are playing very good football, and the Steelers are not going to have Kenny Pickett at quarterback.

Betting Trends

Steelers are 3-0-1 ATS in their last 4 games after accumulating less than 90 yards rushing in their previous game.

Panthers are 4-0 ATS in their last 4 games on grass.

Key Injuries

Pittsburgh Steelers Injuries: QB Kenny Pickett (Concussion) Q, DL Chris Wormley (Knee) Q

Carolina Panthers Injuries: S Xavier Woods (Knee) Q, CB Donte Jackson (Achilles) O

Key Matchups

Check out the key matchups and mismatches for Pittsburgh Steelers vs Carolina Panthers below.

Sam Darnold vs the Steelers Secondary

Sam Darnold was on IR all year, up until three weeks ago when he came back against the Broncos and helped lead them to a win. He has 284 passing yards, two passing touchdowns, zero interceptions, and he has a 58% completion percentage on the year. Darnold has a history of underwhelming in the NFL, but he still has a chance to lead the Panthers to a potential playoff spot. The Steelers allow 254 passing yards a game. This is a good matchup for Darnold and he needs to have a good game for the Panthers to have a chance here.

Najee Harris vs the Panthers Front Seven

Najee Harris has been inconsistent for the Steelers this year. He has 187 carries, 704 rushing yards, and five rushing touchdowns on the year. Harris has been better recently, but still hasn’t been great. The Panthers allow 129 rushing yards a game which is a good matchup for Harris. He needs to have a good game for the Steelers to have any chance here, especially with Kenny Pickett being questionable coming into this game.

Pittsburgh Steelers Depth Chart

QB: Kenny Pickett
RB1: Najee Harris
RB2: Jaylen Warren
LWR: Diontae Johnson
RWR: George Pickens
SWR: Steven Sims
TE1: Pat Freiermuth

Carolina Panthers Depth Chart

QB: Sam Darnold
RB1: D’Onta Foreman
RB2: Chuba Hubbard
LWR: DJ Moore
RWR: Terrace Marshall Jr.
SWR: Shi Smith
TE1: Ian Thomas