Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Green Bay Packers, 8/16/18 Predictions & Odds

Steelers vs. Packers Preseason Pick

A pair of playoff contenders in their respective conferences will meet Thursday night at Lambeau Field when the Green Bay Packers host the Pittsburgh Steelers at 8:00 p.m. ET. With many Steelers starters sitting out, will the Packers cash as a home favorite?

Game Snapshot

405 Pittsburgh Steelers at 406 Green Bay Packers

8:00 p.m. ET, Thursday, August 16, 2018

Lambeau Field, Green Bay, WI

Public Betting Trends & Odds

According to oddsmakers, the Packers are 5.5-point home favorites to beat the Steelers, who opened as 2.5-point underdogs. As for the total, it hit the board at 37.5 but has climbed to 43. Per our NFL Public Betting page, the Eagles are receiving 52% of the betting tickets tonight.

Preview NFL Preseason Matchups

Pittsburgh Steelers

Ben Roethlisberger is in the concussion protocol after taking a hit in Tuesday's practice.

Roethlisberger was initially thought to be fine, but he's ended up in the protocol all the same. Concussions are never ideal, of course, but are particularly unwelcome when you are 36 years old with a history of them. Roethlisberger's Week 1 status isn't in doubt, but the Steelers have every incentive to bring him along slowly.

Green Bay Packers

Aaron Rodgers said he thinks he'll play in Thursday's preseason game versus the Steelers.

He also said he's less likely to play in Green Bay's final two preseason games. Brett Hundley and DeShone Kizer undoubtedly need the extra reps prior to the season, so Rodgers is only expected to play one or two possessions. If Randall Cobb (ankle) is unavailable again, it will be interesting to see if the Packers start the game with Davante Adams, Geronimo Allison, and DeAngelo Yancey in 3-WR sets, much like the club did in their first preseason game.

Betting Trends

Pittsburgh

The road team has covered the spread in four of the last five meetings between these two teams.

Green Bay

The Packers are 1-4 against the spread in their last five home games dating back to last season.

Prediction

The reason for the line movement in this game is because Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin confirmed that Roethlisberger (concussion), backup quarterback Landry Jones (rest) and receiver Antonio Brown (quad/rest) will not play tonight. The Packers dropped 31 points on the Titans last week without Rodgers, who is expected to play this week. Joshua Dobbs and Mason Rudolph arguably have more upside than Brett Hundley and DeShone Kizer but the latter actually has starting experience in the NFL. I’ll go with the Pack.

 

NFL Preseason Week 2 Prediction: Green Bay Packers -5.5