(2 Picks)
FOLLOW THE UNIT INSTRUCTIONS.
1:00PM EST: HOU/ATL Under 42 (3 Units)
Texans rookie QB CJ Stroud has played well to begin his young career but he's up against a tough Falcons defense today. Atlanta ranks 10th allowing 19.3 points per game but they've played very well all things considered. They held a potent Jaguars offense to 23 points last week despite their offense struggling to hold onto the ball and scoring just 7 points. The week before that they held the Lions offense to 20 in Detroit and again their offense struggled scoring just 6 points. They're playing at Home for the first time since September 17th, always a boost for the defense.
The Falcons offense has struggled with QB Desmond Ridder. Managing just 13 points combined through 2 games is plain terrible. Especially with a defense that's playing well. The Texans defense is right behind ATL ranking 11th allowing 19.8 points per game. They held the Steelers to 6 at Home last week and the Jaguars to 17 in Jacksonville the week prior. Their offense runs through rookie RB Bijan Robinson which helps keep this clock ticking. The Falcons 15.5 points per game ranks 25th on the season.
1:00PM EST: Steelers +4.5 (3 Units)
Big time Rivalry game here and Pittsburgh is 5-1 in their last 6 against Baltimore despite their offensive struggles in recent year. All 6 of this games have been decided by 5 points or less. It's your stereotypical AFC North battle whenever these two meet. 5 straight meetings between these two have gone Under as well. Last year they split the series. PIT won 16-13 in Baltimore and BAL won 16-14 in Pittsburgh.
The Steelers win and play through their defense and there's a massive advantage at the edge spot for them. TJ Watt and Alex Highsmith form one of the best pass rushing duos in the NFL and the Ravens OL is beat up. They do finally get Ronnie Staley back after missing a few games but he hasn't played great, allowing 1 sack in the 1 game he did play. A less than 100% Ankle doesn't help. Then on the flip side their starting T Morgan Moses is out.
Highsmith had 14.5 sacks last season and T.J. Watt is probably the best pass rusher in the NFL right now. He's just not always healthy. Pittsburgh also has Markus Golden who's recorded double digit sacks multiple times throughout his career and has a couple this season. There's a lot of stress on an okay Ravens offensive line today.
The Ravens defense hasn't been overly impressive. They dominated the Browns last week allowing just 3 points but QB Deshaun Watson didn't play in that game. Rookie QB Dorian Thompson-Robinson filled in and for some reason the Browns HC Kevin Stefanski decided to Air it out that day instead of leaning on a very good ground game. The Colts scored 22 on them the week before that and the Bengals scored 24 a few weeks ago. That sounds respectable against Joe Burrow's Bengals but they rank 31st in the NFL averaging 12.3 points per game.
The Steelers offense leaves a lot to be desired but their over familiarity with their division rivals should help. PIT ran for 198 yards on the Ravens the last time they met and Najee Harris is starting to get going. He's running harder than he was earlier this season and isn't dancing so much. He averaged 5.1 yards per carry and will see plenty of action in what should be a grind out affair between these two teams.
