Pittsburgh Steelers at Atlanta Falcons Betting Preview
The first game of Week 3 in the preseason features the Pittsburgh Steelers at the Atlanta Falcons. This game will be played at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta on Thursday night.
The game can be seen on NFL Network. The last time these two teams met was in 2022. December 4th, 2022, the Steelers downed the Falcons 19-16.
The Steelers are one of the only unbeaten teams in preseason play, at 2-0. Pittsburgh scored 27 in both games, on the road at Tampa Bay and at home against the Bills. Atlanta comes into this game with a 1-0-1 record. The Falcons beat the Miami Dolphins in their opener 19-3. Game two saw the Falcons and Bengals settle at a 13-13 tie.
The Pittsburgh Steelers are -3.5 on the road in this game. The Falcons/Steelers total is at 38.5.
Steelers Liking Quarterback Play
The biggest positive thus far for the Pittsburgh Steelers has been the play of quarterback Kenny Pickett. Pickett was three forfour with a touchdown thrown in the Week 2 preseason win. Mason Rudolph and Mitchell Trubisky come in behind Pickett, but Mike Tomlin and the Pittsburgh staff are pending for Pickett to be their guy.
Jaylen Warren will get opportunities during the season, and he got one in the win. He busted out a 62-yard carry on his only attempt of the game, which resulted in a touchdown.
Najee Harris got two carries in the game for six yards. Tight end Pat Freiermuth is key to the Pittsburgh offense this season, as Pickett could use a reliable red-zone guy. Freifermuth caught a touchdown in the win over Buffalo.
Pittsburgh will start the regular season at home for two games. The Steelers host the 49ers and then will welcome the Cleveland Browns to town for Monday Night Football in Week 2.
Atlanta’s Young Offense with Things to Prove
Atlanta has used their young quarterback Desmond Ridder in both preseason games so far. Ridder completed seven of nine passes but threw an interception in the latest game against Cincinnati. Bijan Robinson also got carries in the game. The first-round draft pick out of Texas got four carries for 20 yards.
Robinson and Tyler Allgeier will do the bulk of the workload at the running back position. On the receiving side, Drake London will likely lead the way, but Atlanta is looking for much bigger things this season from tight end Kyle Pitts. Pitts is just 22 years old but has had a lingering knee issue in training camp and has been mostly ineffective thus far in the league.
The Falcons also play back-to-back home games to start the 2023 season. Atlanta gets Carolina in Week 1, and then the Green Bay Packers come to town for Week 2.
Steelers Win Road Affair
We expect this to be a pretty interesting game and a fun one. In the preseason, you just never really know what to expect. Are guys going to play a bunch in a game like this, or not much at all?
After this, the teams have two weeks off until regular season play gets going. Look for the Pittsburgh Steelers to use their guys a little more than the Atlanta Falcons in this game. That leads us to believe betting on the Pittsburgh Steelers would be the right move here.
The final bet for the Thursday game between Pittsburgh and Atlanta is the Pittsburgh Steelers -3.5 over the Atlanta Falcons.
