Patriots Host Steelers on Sunday Night Football Having Won 16 Straight at Home

• The New England Patriots signed Antonio Brown on Saturday after he was released by the Oakland Raiders
• The Steelers are 7-1 ATS in their last eight as an underdog
• New England has won five of the last six meetings with Pittsburgh

The New England Patriots and Pittsburgh Steelers will get their season started on Sunday Night Football when the Steelers visit Gillette Stadium. Antonio Brown will be a big topic of conversation in this game but the former-Steeler, current-Patriots won’t be playing. What’s the best bet in this game?

Steelers vs Patriots Odds

Odds taken 07/09/19.

Patriots Enter Season with Momentum

The wild Antonio Brown saga has come to a conclusion and the Patriots somehow ended up with him. Although he’s not eligible to play in Week 1, it will give the Patriots a shot in the arm as the season is set to start. It’s not often a team acquires a Hall of Fame-caliber player at this point in the season.

It might also help taunt the Steelers a little bit as they got rid of Brown earlier in the year, but now he’ll be hanging out on the sidelines.

Steelers have Quiet Confidence

The Steelers did lose Brown in the offseason, as well as running back Le’Veon Bell, but they feel like they’ll see improvement by subtraction. Given the train wreck Brown was with the Raiders, they’re probably feeling like they made the right move.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AUdhWkClks0

They already have quality running backs to replace Bell and history has shown us that they replace wide receivers with ease. Guys like Donte Moncrief and James Washington will be expected to step up. At the same time, the Steelers upgraded their defense with guys like Devin Bush, who should be an impact player as a rookie.

What’s the Best Bet?

This feels like a big line as these two teams are fairly evenly matched. The Patriots have won 16 straight at home but are decent on the road. They were 4-3-1 in away games last season and 7-1 in 2017. They’re also a team that tends to disappoint as a favorite but cashes as a dog. They’ve covered seven of their last eight as the dog.

The other factor here is that they’re visiting New England in September, which is traditionally, a fairly good time of year to get them. For all the wins they’ve had over the years, they were just 2-2 after four games last season as well as in 2017 too.

Without Brown in the lineup, it does take a sizeable bite out of the Patriots offense. He’s out and remember that Josh Gordon was just reinstated, so there could be some kinks to work out. The Patriots will probably try to establish the run, but Pittsburgh should be up to the task.

Overall, I just feel like we’re overpaying a bit for the brand name in betting New England. They’ll get stronger as the season goes but right now, these teams are fairly even. The Patriots have won seven straight as a home favorite of 3.5 to 7 points, so I’m expecting them to win, but Pittsburgh will get the cover.