Last week vs the Las Vegas Raiders, the Pittsburgh Steelers managed to surprise everyone by throwing up their first 30 point game of the season in a 32-13 win.

It was encouraging to see the Steelers pull away in a game for once, creating some relief early in the game instead of late game theatrics that are hellbent on giving us here at the Steel Curtain Network an early grave, but this performance surely didn’t help how some of us bet the parlay!

Review

Corey – I gave a tripod parlay to you that seemed like a sure thing. Did I like the Steelers to win? Yes. That leg was pretty easy to take. It was a matter of how I thought the Steelers would close out that game that got us in trouble.

• PIT Steelers (-4) – HIT
• PIT Over 20.5 Points – HIT
• PIT Steelers to Win by 1-6 Points – MISS

In the Staff Pick article, I gave the final score of 23-18. That would have hit all of the legs of the tripod. However, I was not expecting an almost 20 point win, given that Justin Fields had been struggling to read the defenses he had faced, and that the offense hadn’t really found good footing yet this season. Fields would prove everyone wrong by guiding the Steelers to their 4th win of the season.

Typically, a 4-2 record in this day and age of the NFL keeps you under Center, but here we are this week talking about possibly starting Russell Wilson. I’ll get into why I don’t like this move in a minute, because it really has major implications this week on what kind of legs we are going to look at, and ‘legs’ are definitely the theme of the week.

Jeff 

Last week my parlay failed, what else is new, but it wasn’t dead-in-the-water like past parlays have been. In fact, I was pretty darn close to hitting my parlay last week, but isn’t that the case with most parlays? Isn’t that why they’re so popular/addictive? And isn’t that why Vegas makes a killing off them?!

Here was my failed parlay from last week:

• PIT Total Points: 20.5+ HIT
• Justin Fields Passing Yards: 175+ MISS
• Pat Freiermuth Receptions: 3.5+ MISS

Close…so close.

Dave – Although I had been approached to being the third leg of this parlay article, I was not given the details to jump in last week. I had a bet in mind that I don’t have the odds, but I did use for part of a larger (8-leg) bet I do for fun each week. Since I didn’t put my three picks out there, I can claim victory and nobody would be the wiser. My picks were the Steelers on the moneyline, the Steelers over 20.5 points, and the Raiders under 14.5 points. Now let’s see if I can do this by putting my picks out there before the facts.

The Picks

Corey – The New York Jets are coming to town fresh off of a close loss to the Buffalo Bills in which the team looked rejuvenated by a different voice on the sideline, in new Head Coach Jeff Albrich. Also, if you’ve had your head buried in your work all last week and couldn’t come up for air, you might have missed the fact that QB Aaron Rodgers has a new toy on offense.

If the 49ers won the Mid Day Lotto Draw when they were able to keep Brandon Aiyuk, then the Jets have won the Pick 4 Evening Lotto Draw by acquiring Davante Adams from the Raiders just a week after the Steelers played them.

I’d have to go back and look, but I don’t remember a situation where a Wide Receiver could have played the same team two weeks in a row like Adams had the chance to do this week.

In either case, the Steelers were holding a Lotto Ticket for both drawings that did them no good. Let’s see if we can make ourselves feel better about missing out on both of those jackpots by padding our pockets with a little coin.

My picks this week have more to do with who the Jets are as a team, and the decisions that Coach Tomlin is making in regards to this game, than anything else. The New York Jets have the #2 overall defense in the NFL, allowing 273 Yds/Gm. That itself is daunting to score against, but also add to that the fact that the Jets have the #2 overall Passing Defense at 149 Yds/Gm. This means that regardless of who the Steelers trot out at QB, passing the ball is going to be a premium against a VERY talented Jets secondary.

This also means that passing plays are going to break down faster than we have seen all year, and when you’ve got Quinnen Williams breathing down your neck for a sack, you had better just tuck the ball and run for what you can. And if this is the case, having a rusty Russell Wilson and a rehabbed ankle seem like a disaster waiting to happen.

I am STILL not sure why Tomlin is even considering this move for this week. Look for the Jets to load the box and DARE the Steelers QB’s to throw the ball until the Steelers can prove they can do it. I don’t think this is the week they will, so with yards and points at a premium, lets tailor this parlay to the theme I mentioned above… “legs”.

• Najee Harris +60 Yards Rushing (+110)
• Chris Boswell Field Goals OVER 1.5 (-115)
• Each Team to score 1+ Touchdown and 1+ Field Goal (-170)

Total 3-Leg Odds: +375 ($10 pays $47.50)

I might give you a bonus leg in future articles, but this game is one where I am holding onto my cash for a better matchup. Just like Kenny said “You’ve got to know when to hold ’em…”

This is that week to hold ’em. Hold those cards and wait for a ‘better deal’ next hand.

Jeff 

This week’s parlay…which I have a good feeling about:

• Najee Harris Rushing Yards: 60+ (+120)
• PIT Total Points: 16.5+ (-166)
• Chris Boswell: 1.5 FGs+ (-115)
• Total Odds: +345

Winning Bet of $10 = $44.50

Dave 

This is a tough one with a new quarterback on one side and a new receiving threat on the other. This week’s parlay:

• PIT on the Moneyline (+114)
• PIT Total Points: 19.5+ (-102)
• NYJ Total Points: UNDER 17.5 (+114)
• Total Odds: +335

Winning Bet of $10 = $43.50

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