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Week 3 of preseason play is finally among us, which means that we are one step closer to NFL regular season action! The Detroit Lions will wrap up their preseason slate as they make the trip to Pittsburgh to take on the Steelers. You know what time it is! Feel free to join us for our NFL preseason odds series, as our Lions-Steelers prediction and pick will be made.
Standing at 1-1 two games into the preseason, the Lions enter their preseason finale fresh off a slim 27-26 victory over the Colts. With season expectations low, Detroit can generate some excitement within the fan base if they can secure the win on Saturday.
With plenty of highs to go around in the first pair of preseason games in Pittsburgh, the Steelers will be eager to complete their exhibition slate with a good showing in front of their home fans against the Lions. Will the Kenny Pickett show continue in The Steel City?
Here are the Lions-Steelers NFL odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
NFL Odds: Lions-Steelers Odds
Detroit Lions: +5 (-110)
Pittsburgh Steelers: 5 (-110)
Over: 38.5 (-110)
Under: 38.5 (-110)
Why The Lions Could Cover The Spread
Obviously, many starters are expected to sit on both sides to avoid injury and overuse, but there are still reasons to believe that the Lions can get the job done out on the road and finish the preseason with a winning record at 2-1. Without a doubt, Dan Campbell’s squad will be motivated by their second-year coach looking to make his mark and prove that he belongs in this league as a head coach.
In last week’s victory against the Colts, Detroit did a splendid job in halting Indianapolis dead in their tracks, as they held the Colts’ offense to only 291 yards of total offense. In addition, Detroit edged the Colts in Time of Possession at 34:55 to 25:05 and also gained 24 first downs compared to Indy’s 13 total. A repeat of this would do wonders for Detroit in their final preseason game.
Even with multiple starters expected to sit, this will not be the case for starting quarterback Jared Goff. With Goff under center, Detroit has a chance to jump on Pittsburgh’s backups early. Goff was absent against the Colts, so expect the Lions field general to be sharp in his tune-up before the regular season gets going.
The biggest question mark for this Lions squad comes on defense, as this was a unit that was bruised during week 1 and then followed that up by getting torched through the air a week later. Detroit will need to find more consistency on that side of the ball to bolster their chances of covering.
Why The Steelers Could Cover The Spread
It has been a hot minute since the Steelers lost a preseason game. After going 3-0 in 2021, Pittsburgh is one win away from going unbeaten in preseason play in back-to-back seasons. While this hasn’t necessarily always been a direct correlation to success when it comes to the regular season (AKA the 2008 Lions), coach Mike Tomlin and company have to feel good about where the team is at.
Obviously, it is a new era in The Steel City with longtime quarterback Ben Roethlisberger’s retirement in the off-season. Like the Lions with Goff, football fans and bettors should expect a healthy dose of Mitchell Trubisky and rookie Kenny Pickett. With the starting job on the line, both quarterbacks will try to leave one last impression to the coaching staff on why they are deserving of being QB1 with Week 1 of the regular season looming. While it’s currently neck and neck on who will get the nod, expect Trubisky to get the first reps followed by Pickett shortly after.
Out of all of the first-team wide receivers that saw action last week, rookie standout George Pickett certainly received his reps to leave an imprint on the game. His 21 snaps were second only to wideout Diontae Johnson’s 25, so it has become clear that Pittsburgh has realized his big play potential and rewarded him with an abundant amount of playing time. This should be the case yet again on Saturday.
Ideally, Pittsburgh’s best chance to cover is to take advantage of the Lions experimenting with different lineups and fringe players being inserted that will be fighting for a chance to make the roster.
Finals Lions-Steelers Prediction & Pick
Pittsburgh has gone 14-4 in preseason games since 2017 and should be expected to win this one with Tomlin playing starters for the first half. With the Steelers also at home, it is hard to imagine a scenario where the Lions have enough firepower to hang with Pittsburgh for a full 60 minutes.
Finals Lions-Steelers Prediction & Pick: Steelers -5 (-110)