1. Steelers Over Under Win Totals
2. Steelers Over Under Win Totals
3. What Was The Over Under On The Steelers Game

• The Steelers are considered heavy favorites in this matchup (indicated by -185), requiring a $185 bet to win $100 (plus the initial bet back). The Panthers are the underdog in this matchup, paying out $410 total for a $100 bet ($310 in winnings).
• The latest odds are out for the projected win totals around the NFL in 2019 and the Steelers are not expected to improve on last season By Simon Chester @SimonAChester Apr 4, 2019, 7:45am EDT.
• Burnett under performed, so the talent on D wasn't there. We started the season with a 2nd year RB who played all of 70 offensive snaps the year before and a back up that was in his rookie year. Bos became un boslike.

The consensus states the Steelers will return to AFC prominence now that Ben Roethlisberger returns from his elbow injury.

The Chiefs are currently 6-1, but there is -155 juice on the under. The Baltimore Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers are right behind the Chiefs with 12.5 projected wins, followed the Seattle Seahawks and Green Bay Packers at 11.5. After three straight losses, the New England Patriots’ win total has dropped to 7.5, with -121 juice on the under. The Pittsburgh Steelers are the last remaining undefeated team at 7-0 to start the season. Their 2020 NFL win total has jumped up to 13.5, which is the most on the oddsboard. The Steelers’ odds to win the Super Bowl have also skyrocketed to the second-best in the league.

Given Ben’s ability to bounce back in the past, pundits are right to believe 2020 is no different.

But this isn’t a young Ben Roethlisberger. And while quarterback career spans are longer in today’s game, Ben failed to stay completely healthy throughout his career.

But the reason the Steelers will find it a challenge to reach their over-under win projection doesn’t rest just with Ben. The AFC North is stronger and poor depth may again keep this team from winning double-digit games, as in 2019.

While time will tell what happens in 2020, a few reasons exist why you want to think twice before betting the Steelers will surpass their over-under win threshold.

Here are 4 reasons to proceed with caution with the Steelers.

1. Divisional Foes

From a theoretical standpoint, the AFC North is no joke in 2020. We know what the Baltimore Ravens are capable of. The Cleveland Browns are loaded with proven talent. And the Cincinnati Bengals blended the draft and free agency to revamp the 2-14 roster that was.

The Steelers have a history of bone-crunching games against the Ravens, and the 2 teams are often neck and neck every time they meet. With the Ravens among the NFL’s elite, the Steelers must now fight to keep pace.

And while they own one of the best defenses in football, is it enough to stop the revolutionary Ravens offense Lamar Jackson leads? Given the team’s recent struggles against the Ravens, the odds are against them.

Over the past 5 seasons, the Ravens hold an edge over the Steelers, and given the fact the NFL’s most talented team strengthened themselves in the off-season, don’t expect the Steelers to keep up.

Onto Cleveland, where Ben Roethlisberger has won more games in FirstEnergy Stadium, home of the Browns, than any other quarterback. Read that line again and research it. It isn’t a typo. In fact, Roethlisberger has owned the Browns since they passed on drafting him in 2004.

Karma is a real pain.

Here in 2020, the Browns are a different team. Gone are the days of the old quarterback carousel. Gone are the days of annual roster makeovers.

Sure, the coaching and front office carousel continues—sort of. Head coach Kevin Stefanski was runner-up for the job in 2019, and Andrew Berry returns to the front office. So this isn’t the same merry-go-round we are used to seeing in Cleveland.

Old faces return, and a popular coaching choice got his job a year later. Plus, the fact exists Stefanski already has his guys on the roster with multiple talented running backs and tight ends. You will see the Browns experience a learning curve to figure out the system, but at least the puzzle pieces are in town.

And the Steelers must realize and respect that.

Since the only weakness in Pittsburgh’s defense rested with the run defense, which ranked fourteenth of 32 teams, it turns the Browns into a legitimate threat to beat Pittsburgh twice in 2020.

Onto the Cincinnati Bengals, who are under the radar. Sure, they are coming off a 2-14 disaster in 2019, but with a new quarterback in Joe Burrow and a proven receiving unit and running back, the Bengals may play better than advertised.

It is unlikely, but it is also wrong to write off the Bengals as 2 guaranteed wins, as the Steelers often can. In a year where without live, off-season practices, look for elements of surprise from teams like the Bengals.

While you will find the Steelers favored to sweep the Browns and Bengals, it is foolish to write them off as 2 guaranteed wins. It is wise to believe the Steelers have 4 wins here, but unwise to assume them.

2. Ben Roethlisberger Versus Father Time

Ben Roethlisberger is a future Hall of Fame quarterback, and even his biggest critics can’t dispute this. You also can’t dispute that quarterbacks play longer than ever before, given protections they never had in the past.

Ben can join the club that includes Drew Brees (41) and Tom Brady (43) as quarterbacks who have at least a year left in their NFL careers.

While Ben’s injuries were never major enough to keep him out of action for an entire season until 2019, they take tolls on quarterbacks unable to avoid them. Even in today’s game.

Take Andrew Luck, who retired prematurely because of piling injuries. Other quarterbacks, like Cam Newton, regressed in recent years for the same reasons.

The list doesn’t stop at Luck and Newton. Players like Carson Wentz, who faced injuries even during his college days, also fit that mold.

Now that Ben is returning from a major injury at age 38, the question remains if he can return to 100 percent or will the bug hit him as it hit Luck and perhaps Newton? Even his career span doubled that of Luck’s.

When betting at NFL sites that the Steelers will cross the 9.5-win threshold – it must be considered that it is a risk. Even though the Steelers are one of the NFL’s most complete teams with Ben Roethlisberger – is he the same quarterback?

If this were 2010, you take your chances. Ben would get the Steelers to the 10-win mark and probably to a place the franchise hasn’t been since 2010.

Here in 2020, it is a total toss-up, and the restrictions in place aren’t helping. While players around the league organized workouts reminiscent of when the 2011 NFL Lockout occurred, lack of live practice reps in a team setting after coming back from an injury is a tremendous concern.

Sure, a quarterback from Ben’s caliber may pick up where he left off in 2018 when he threw for 5,000 yards. But this isn’t a young Ben Roethlisberger.

While a 41-year-old Drew Brees, 38-year-old Philip Rivers, and 43-year-old Brady can still sling it, they remained healthier throughout their careers than Ben minus Bress’ separated shoulder in 2005 and Brady’s torn ACL in 2008.

Steelers Over Under Win Totals

3. No Skill at the Skill Positions

While the Steelers defense trends upward, the offense is trending downward at an alarming rate. Suppose Ben Roethlisberger returns to the Ben we are used to seeing. He has the talent to elevate those around him to higher levels.

Antonio Brown is long stated he’s done playing football while Le’Veon Bell is now averaging 3.2 yards per carry with a struggling New York Jets offense. A shell of his former self.

Worse yet, Juju Smith-Schuster, who had an Antonio Brown type of season in 2018, was mediocre in 2019. Sure, Mason Rudolph and Devlin Hodges threw him the ball, but going from 100+ receptions to 42 is a major red flag. Yeah, he battled injuries. But he still recorded 42 receptions in just 12 games, or 3.5 receptions per game.

After Smith-Schuster, the Steelers have some talent, but no one is proven. Rookie Chase Claypool has the size and speed to contribute in his rookie season. But he must play catch up in 2020, as with rookies on all 32 teams.

Dionte Johnson put up some gaudy numbers as a rookie and was even an All-Pro on special teams, but given the injuries the Steelers suffered, the team thrust him into a go-to role. But he failed to light up the league as other rookie receivers.

The leader in receiving yards in 2019? James Washington, who led the team with 735. He is a deep threat, but he has yet to break out and impress as he heads into his third season.

New tight end Eric Ebron put up some fantastic numbers as a Colt in 2018 before he laid an egg in 2019 with just 31 receptions.

Steelers Over Under Win Totals

• Who is the real Eric Ebron here?
• The draft bust that the Detroit Lions gave up on, or the 2018 version?

The run game was nonexistent, and it forced the Steelers to go one-dimensional in 2019 with quarterbacks whose NFL ceiling rests as game managers. James Conner led the team with 464 rushing yards while Benn Snell logged 426. No Steeler averaged over 4 yards a carry in 2019.

Often, with backup quarterbacks, the run game must step up to set up opportunities in the passing game, and the backs failed to accomplish this.

While 2020 is a new season and Ben figures to return by Week 1, here is a harbinger for the upcoming season.

The Steelers offense ranked 30th in 2019, and even with Ben on the field for 10 quarters in 2019, they didn’t play exciting football. It began with a 33-3 meltdown against the New England Patriots before Ben left the game against the Seattle Seahawks with the elbow injury.

The Steelers drafted Claypool and change of pace running back Anthony McFarland. But again, the lack of off-season workouts because of the season delays doesn’t help them. And the odds are stacked even further against them now that the NFL axed preseason.

While Ben Roethlisberger can elevate talent around him, he and the rest of the NFL’s elite quarterbacks are rookies when they must mentor the kids on the fly in a year where all games count.

4. Danger: Shallow Depth

The Steelers proved this last season, and it led to a disappointing 8-8 finish where even the talented Steeler defense failed to save the offense.

It hit James Conner and Juju Smith-Schuster. Dionte Johnson was dinged up, leaving the Cleveland game in the third quarter.

And while the Steelers sat at 8-5 heading into the final 3 games of 2019, they barely won 6 of those contests. The defense played well enough to bail out the offense, where second and third-string players comprised the skill positions.

But as with so many teams with money locked up with top talent, depth is a major issue.

It’s why Mason Rudolph and Devlin Hodges sat behind Ben Roethlisberger instead of a more capable backup.

Look at some of these teams.

• In Cleveland, Case Keenum is behind Baker Mayfield.
• In Indianapolis, Jacoby Brissett sits behind Philip Rivers.
• Andy Dalton is second fiddle to Dak Prescott in Dallas.

Take Cleveland again, where Kareem Hunt sits as the back behind Nick Chubb. In Denver, Phillip Lindsay spells Melvin Gordon. No one has a clue who will win the second spot in Pittsburgh’s backfield. One where none of these backs would start for another NFL team.

Look up and down the depth chart. You see a similar pattern. The Steelers have a lot of money tied up in top-tier talent. It’s how the best teams win games. But as the Steelers found out in 2019, the injury bug will sink teams that lack depth.

And it sunk their 2019 season.

It is a factor to consider. Some teams will continue to thrive even if a starter or star player goes down. Bridgewater did it for Brees in 2019. Capable backups do it often across the league.

Conclusion

The season hinges on Ben Roethlisberger and whether he can return to form following a serious elbow injury.

If Ben returns to his 2018 status, the Steelers are in business. But he is 38, and there isn’t a quality quarterback behind him. The Steelers lack quality depth in almost every position. Not good for a team injuries hit in 2019.

What Was The Over Under On The Steelers Game

The Steelers running game did nothing to help the fringe talent at quarterback, and not a single pass-catcher stepped up as a real go-to.

What do you think? Can Ben work his magic once more, or are the Steelers done?