Contributors: Corey Eckenroth/Jeff Hartman/Dave Schofield

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The rumor mill has been cranked up to level 10 on Social Media, as the ‘Trade/Fire Tomlin’ chatter is ALREADY in full force from the talking heads over the Steelers recent 4 game slide.

Gone is the hope and optimism that a 10-3 record produced, and in its place is the familiar dread and sense of underachievement as Pittsburgh backs its way into the Playoffs at 10-7.

Besides the Special Teams, whatever metric you’d like to measure the team by, it has pretty much been a mess these last couple of weeks.

One GOOD thing is that at LEAST the Pittsburgh defense was trending in the right direction by holding a prolific Cincinnati Bengals offense to 19 points this past weekend.

One BAD thing is that the Cincinnati Bengals defense, one of the very worst in the league, made the Steelers offense look like a Junior Varsity team.

Now the Steelers head to Baltimore for the Wild Card Round, a couple weeks removed from the 34-17 loss in which the Steelers also had their chances, but missed the critical opportunities that would have won them the game AND the Division.

Can the Steelers find a way to stymie Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore offense one more time in 2024? Can Arthur Smith find a new wrinkle to spark the Offense? Will the Steelers defense disappear in the Playoffs again?

There is precedence for hope for this Pittsburgh Steelers team. Remember, the 6 seed was where the Steelers last won the Super Bowl from in 2008.

Review

Corey – The Cincinnati Bengals are terrible on defense. The problem is that when they played Pittsburgh, the Steelers Offense was even WORSE. I called for a big day rushing the ball and the Steelers seemed to try everything they could to go against that idea. Najee had a 3.0 YPC average on the day, and the team as a whole only broke through for 74 yards on 23 carries. Not good… not good AT ALL against a Bengals defense that was giving up an average of 124+ yds/gm.

Jaylen Warren was targeted one time in the entire game as the C.O.P. (Change-Of-Pace) back, a number that boggles the mind when you think about how dynamic Warren is out of the backfield catching the ball. Absolutely unacceptable that this is the way Arthur Smith is calling the offense.

What can we say about newly minted All Pro Christopher “Wizard” Boswell that hasn’t already been said? All he did in 2024 was the usual Wizard of Boz stuff: the accuracy, the range, the consistency… it was all there. And in the end, it earned Boswell not only the 2024 All Pro Special Teams nod, it also firmly placed him in 2nd Place All Time in Field Goals made in a single season. David Akers had 44 in 2011, and now Chris Boswell takes sole possession of 2nd with 43 Field Goals made. Congrats to the best Steelers Kicker of my generation for sure, and perhaps, best Steelers Kicker… EVER. I said what I said, and that is even after having watched the tail end of Gary Anderson’s career.

• Najee Harris Rushing Yards +60 (+180) MISS – 36 Yards Rushing
• Jaylen Warren Receiving Yards +25 (+110) MISS – 0 Yards Receiving
• Chris Boswell O/U 1.5 Field Goals (-145) MISS – 1/1 FG

Jeff – Last week my parlay missed for the Steelers game vs. the Bengals, but what else is new? There was a time when I felt like as the season progressed I was getting better at picking my spots, but that has not been the case. My parlay struggles continue…

Here was my parlay from last week:

3 Leg Parlay

• Russell Wilson Passing Yards: 250+ (+120) MISS
• Calvin Austin III Receiving Yards: 50+ (+250) MISS
• George Pickens Receiving Yards: 70+ (+105) MISS

Another parlay ruined, and this one wasn’t just ruined, it was completely annihilated due to the poor offensive performance in Week 18. I don’t even know what to say after that game, other than the Steelers offense wasn’t going to help many bettors hit their parlays last week.

Dave – So much for the Steelers having a bounce-back game…

• Jaylen Warren Receiving Yards: 25+ (+110) MISS
• George Pickens Receiving Yards: 70+ (+105) MISS
• PIT Team Total Points: Over 26.5 (+150) MISS

It’s so tough to win these bets when they are overwhelmingly about the offense and the Steelers offense is in a massive skid. If you’re going to miss on a parlay, you might as well miss them all.

This Week’s Picks

Corey – This is it. It all comes down to this weekend for the Steelers. They have a very familiar opponent whom they know quite well and have had success against. There’s nothing quite like Steelers vs Ravens…

… EXCEPT Steelers vs Ravens in the Playoffs. I can still vividly see Troy Polamalu returning Joe Flacco’s pass back for a Pick 6 and a trip to the Super Bowl. Oh, the memories of THAT team.

Well, it’s time to sell the farm kiddies. We’ve been at this all season rooting for the Steelers, and while it hasn’t always been money, this season and how it has unfolded has certainly been exciting to watch. With that in mind, let’s hit this parlay and make the Playoffs memorable!

I’m going out like a champ, and if the Steelers are going down this weekend, well, I’m grabbing the rails and going down with the ship too. An 8.5 point spread to your biggest rival seems like a lot of points. Then, there’s the fact that the Steelers already beat the Ravens. Are the Steelers playing well right now? No. Are the Ravens the perfect team to face to help the Steelers remember who they are? I actually think so.

With Patty ‘Muth getting 11 targets last game to go with 8 catches, it seems like a good time to go to the well on that leg. Let’s take the OVER 4.5 catches for Freiermuth.

And while we are at it, lets also go back to the well on another leg that seems to be as steady as she can be. The Wizard of Boz once again will get the call to help out on the last part of this parlay.

• Steelers POINT SPREAD: +8.5 Points (-108)
• Pat Freiermuth O/U Receptions: OVER 4.5 Rec (+125)
• Chris Boswell O/U Field Goals: OVER 1.5 FG (-125)

Total Odds: +490

$10 Bet: Wins $59.00

Jeff – This week’s parlay…which I am taking a unique approach to in this game. I said the same thing last week, and we know how that played out. That’s fine with me, sometimes you just need to take a risk or two.

3 Leg Parlay

• Steelers +9.5 (-108)
• Jaylen Warren Receiving Yards: 25+ (+120)
• Jaylen Warren Rushing Yards: 40+ (+130)

+675 Odds

$10 bet = $77.50

I like the Steelers keeping this game close, hence why I’m taking the Steelers getting the 9.5 points. On top of that, I hope the Steelers are going to feature Jaylen Warren in a variety of ways, and I believe he’ll have enough success for this parlay to hit. I’m hoping this will spur the Steelers onto victory!

Dave – Bets this week don’t all come down to if you believe the Steelers will play better offensively than the last four games as I’m not making that mistake again.

• BAL Team Total Points: UNDER 28.5 (-148)
• Darnell Washington Receptions: OVER 0.5 (+110)
• PIT Team Total Points: OVER 19.5 (+142) 

Total Odds: +750

Winning Bet of $10 = $85.00

Last time they played, the Steelers would have held the Ravens under 28 points if it wasn’t for the pick-six, so this is not that big of a stretch. Also, I’m going TE Steelers can get at least 3 more points than last game. The big wildcard is if Mt. Warshington with get a reception, but why not?

Are you buying our picks? What kind of parlay did YOU build this week? Let us know below and make sure to check out all of our other great content over at Steel Curtain Network and Fans First Sports Network, and make sure to check out the full lineup of all our great podcasts wherever you get your Pods!

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