Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Houston Texans: Prediction, Best Bets, Odds, Depth Charts (10/1/23)
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Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Houston Texans kicks off this Sunday at 1:00pm EST in Texas as a home game for the Texans. The Steelers are currently a -3 favorite and -145 on the moneyline while the total is set at 42. Read on for more Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Houston Texans best bets and predictions as the Texans look to keep this close by covering the spread.
Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Houston Texans Prediction & Best Bet
It was a massive win for the Texans last week as they opened as high as +10 against the Jaguars before closing at +7.5. Their defensive line abused the Jags weak offensive line and sent relentless pressure to Trevor Lawrence in an effort to disrupt their offense. This worked to great success while their offense has continued to improve as CJ Stroud gets comfortable with his weapons in the pass attack.
They now get an intriguing battle against the Pittsburgh Steelers who skated by with a win over the Raiders. They lost in Success Rate yet lucked into a win due to the Raiders head scratching coaching decisions. Not exactly a recipe for future success and shows that the Steelers still have serious issues as a unit.
Those issues mainly reside with their offense as they continue to struggle with generating any sort of consistency with downfield progression. Their offensive coordinator Matt Canada continues to call a head scratching game plan, opting into the run behind a weak offensive line on long downs. That forces Kenny Pickett to convert long distances in late downs, resulting in failed conversions at a higher rate.
The Texans defensive front will do them no favors as they have steadily improved at generating backfield pressure and now get the benefit of taking on one of the worst offensive lines in football. Especially with them being able to rush four and drop back the rest, covering the field and forcing Pickett to throw into tight windows.
This generates an uptick in turnover worthy plays with dangerous passes across the field, giving the Texans opportunities to flip the field to the benefit of their own offense. They may need any extra help they can get against the Steelers defensive line yet should still find some success with their pass attack behind the emergence of Tank Dell wreaking havoc in the short game with a higher target share.
Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Houston Texans Prediction & Best Bet: Houston Texans +3
Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Houston Texans Betting Odds
Even with their metrics saying that they should have lost to the Raiders, oddsmakers are still rewarding the Steelers underwhelming level of play by opening them at -3 against the Texans. Bettors have yet to take a firm stand on either side of the spread, keeping the number the same since the open.
As for the total, points are expected to be scored at a sluggish pace as oddsmakers opened the number at 40.5. Bettors believe points will be scored at a quicker pace, taking the over up to as high as 42.5 in some shops. An intriguing line movement as both defenses have key advantages over each other’s offensive attacks, creating a higher chance for stalled out drives that result in no points on the board.
Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Houston Texans Key Injuries
While the Steelers come into this one fairly healthy, the Texans face potential injury concerns across their offensive line and secondary with Shaq Mason, Laremy Tunsil, Josh Jones, and Jalen Pitre all being listed as questionable.
Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Houston Texans Key Matchups
Can Dameon Pierce get the ground game going in an effort to open up their pass attack?
Dameon Pierce Vs. Steelers Defensive Line
After putting together an impressive 2022 campaign, Dameon Pierce has yet to get it going on the ground this year. An oddity as their improved pass attack should free up holes for Pierce to exploit, yet that has remained to be the case as he has been held to underwhelming numbers.
Dameon Pierce BULLDOZES his way into the end zone 😤pic.twitter.com/qqHRWalBFB
— Texans Nation (@TexansNationCP) September 24, 2023
His dual threat ability in the backfield will be on full display as Houston’s offense will need as much versatility as possible in an effort to open up the Steelers defense. Stroud’s production takes a nosedive when under pressure, needing Pierce to command the attention of the second level and punishing them for blitzing by bouncing to the outside on a dump off. This will free up passing lanes by anchoring the second level, giving Stroud open lanes to exploit with his impressive arm.
Pittsburgh Steelers Depth Chart
QB: Kenny Pickett
RB1: Najee Harris
RB2: Jaylen Warren
LWR: George Pickens
RWR: Allen Robinson II
SWR: Calvin Austin III
TE1: Pat Freiermuth
Houston Texans Depth Chart
QB: CJ Stroud
RB1: Dameon Pierce
RB2: Devin Singletary
LWR: Nico Collins
RWR: Robert Woods
SWR: Tank Dell
TE1: Dalton Schultz