Pittsburgh Steelers vs. New England Patriots, 12/16/18 Week 15 Predictions

Steelers vs. Patriots Spread Prediction

The New England Patriots have dominated the Pittsburgh Steelers in previous meetings but is Mike Tomlin’s team a good underdog play for bettors this afternoon at 4:25 p.m. ET?

Game Snapshot

327 New England Patriots at 328 Pittsburgh Steelers

4:25 p.m. ET, Sunday, December 16

Heinz Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Public Betting Trends

According to oddsmakers from online sports book BetNow.eu, the Patriots are 2.5-point favorites to beat the Steelers. The total, meanwhile, sits at 54 points. As of this writing, 61% of the public betting tickets are on the Patriots to cover the point spread.

New England Patriots

Tom Brady completed 27-of-43 passes for 358 yards and three touchdowns in the Patriots' Week 14 loss to Miami. This was arguably the sharpest Brady has looked all year, but a few miscues wound up costing New England, including their inability to tackle Dolphins players on Miami's game-winning lateral play from 69 yards out. Brady took a costly sack at the end of the first half to allow time to expire when simply throwing the ball away would have set up an easy field goal, and Stephen Gostkowski missed a three-point attempt in a game the Pats lost by one. Brady will get a tougher test in Week 15 at Pittsburgh, although that game could easily turn into a shootout.

Pittsburgh Steelers

NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reports James Conner (doubtful, ankle) isn't expected to play in Week 15 against the Patriots. This is how Conner was trending after barely practicing this week. Conner got in some limited reps on Friday and is on track to return in Week 16. The Steelers will give Jaylen Samuels another start against the Patriots, with Stevan Ridley playing a short-yardage/red-zone role.

NFL Betting Trends

New England

The Patriots are 9-2 against the spread in their last 11 games played in the month of December.

Pittsburgh

The Steelers are 1-7 against the number in their last eight games played in December and 0-3-1 ATS in their last four games overall.

Prediction

The Patriots have dominated this series in previous meetings and there’s no reason to believe they won’t come out of Pittsburgh with another win this year. New England is 5-1 against the spread in its last six games in Pittsburgh and 4-1 against the number in its last five games versus the Steelers overall. The Patriots have been a fantastic play for bettors coming off losses too, posting a 45-19-1 ATS record in their 65 games following a defeat. With Big Ben banged-up and Conner out, I love the Patriots in this spot.

NFL Week 15 Prediction: New England Patriots -2.5