Los Angeles Chargers vs. Pittsburgh Steelers, 11/30/18 Predictions & Odds

Chargers vs. Steelers Total Prediction

The Sunday Night Football matchup should be a good one as the Pittsburgh Steelers host the L.A. Chargers in a battle of AFC playoff contenders. Will the game turn high-scoring for bettors or stay under the total?

Game Snapshot

353 Los Angeles Chargers at 354 Pittsburgh Steelers

8:20 p.m. ET, Sunday, December 2

Heinz Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Public Betting Trends

According to oddsmakers from online sports book BetNow.eu, the Steelers are 3.5-point favorites to beat the Chargers. The total, meanwhile, sits at 51.5 points. As of this writing, 51% of the public betting tickets are on the Chargers to cover the point spread.

Los Angeles Chargers

The Chargers have confirmed that Melvin Gordon is dealing with an MCL sprain and is week to week. Gordon will miss this week's game trip to Pittsburgh and almost certainly Week 14 against the Bengals. It's entirely possible he's sidelined for the remainder of the regular season, though that does not appear to be the most likely outcome right now. Austin Ekeler will lead the Chargers' committee in Gordon's absence with seventh-round rookie Justin Jackson mixing in.

Pittsburgh Steelers

Ben Roethlisberger completed 41-of-56 passes for 462 yards, a touchdown, and two interceptions in the Steelers' Week 12 loss to the Broncos. Pittsburgh moved the ball almost at will in the first half, but they just could not find the end zone. Their first drive ended with a blocked field goal, their second ended with a fumble at the goal line, and they needed a fake field goal to score just before halftime. Those miscues had nothing to do with Roethlisberger, who finished the first half with 221 yards. Ben’s best throw of the day came in the third quarter. Standing in his own end zone, Roethlisberger managed to find JuJu Smith-Schuster despite pressure in his face, and the receiver took it 97 yards for a touchdown. It was mostly downhill from there. Ben allowed the Broncos back into the game with an interception, another drive ended with a fumble, and he threw a terrible interception in the end zone to end the game. Despite giving the game away, Roethlisberger topped 450 yards for the second time this season. He will remain a solid QB1 despite a tough matchup against the Chargers on Sunday night.

NFL Betting Trends

Los Angeles

The under is 4-1 in the Chargers’ last five games overall.

Pittsburgh

The over is 5-1 in the Steelers’ last six games after accumulating more than 350 total yards in their previous game.

Prediction

Following back-to-back road games, the Steelers return home this week where they’ve been a different offense. In their past three home games, the Steelers scored 52 points against Carolina, 33 points versus Cleveland and 41 points against Atlanta. The over is 4-1 in the last five meetings between these two teams in Pittsburgh, is 6-1 in the Steelers’ last seven home games and is 4-0 in their last four games coming off an ATS loss.

NFL Week 13 Prediction: Chargers/Steelers over 51.5