The Pittsburgh Steelers will be going into next season without Ben Roethlisberger on their roster, a first for the team since 2003.
Big Ben closed the curtains on a remarkable career at the end of last season and the Steelers will now have former Buffalo Bills and Chicago Bears quarterback Mitchell Trubisky compete for the starting spot with Mason Rudolph and first-round draft pick Kenny Pickett. It is expected that Trubisky will be the one who gets the nod.
Rudolph has been with the Steelers since they drafted him in 2018 and recently noted the competition for places has always been a thing.
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“You know, I think each year I’ve been here, there’s been competition,” he said. “There’s been guys — when you look back, I just looked back the other day, there’s a lot of guys, quarterbacks, that have filtered through here. And so, I think, you know, with the opportunity to play this year, everyone’s gonna be competing and trying to put their best foot forward, but I’m approaching it, you know, like I have — the same mindset I had the last four years. Every single day, every single rep I get, try to make the most of it and get better.”
In any case, it’s going to be a very interesting season for Pittsburgh and Pennsylvania sports betting given the transition. On that note, we will delve into the team’s futures going into the 2022/23 season, including the win total, division, and conference odds, as well as for the Super Bowl.
The Steelers have a formidable defense at the moment so expectations are high. Add the fact that they have a top running back to the mix and it just might be an all-the-way to glory campaign for The Black and Gold. Pittsburgh has won three of the last AFC North titles and has been to the playoffs six out of the last eight campaigns. Their last Super Bowl win came 14 years ago, however.
Following a season in which they went 9-7-1, some sportsbooks have the Over/Under at 7.5 with the Over at -120 and the Under at -110. It appears there’s more doubt in the Over despite the wealth of experience in the Steelers' staff and their great defense.
That could be because they have the most difficult schedule, which will have six divisional games against teams fighting for a playoff spot. The schedule only points to three foregone conclusions as it pertains to wins and it’s thought that they will struggle to pull eight wins out of it.
An Under 7.5 seems like the safer bet at the moment.
Pittsburgh is a +270 to make the playoffs and -370 to miss out according to Pennsylvania's top betting sites. There are several better teams in the AFC that are better right now so the latter also seems like the safer bet. They would have to beat at least one of the Cincinnati Bengals, Cleveland Browns, Baltimore Ravens, Indianapolis Colts, and Denver Broncos. Doesn’t seem like a huge possibility, right?
Unless they find another franchise QB, it will be hard to see Pittsburgh making the playoffs, with the Los Angeles Chargers, Kansas City Chiefs, Los Angeles Chargers, and Tennessee Titans all in the same conference.
As for the Super Bowl, the Steelers have the 10th longest odds to win at +7000. The Bills are favored on that front at +600 and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are +700 following Tom Brady’s decision to hop back out of retirement.
Given the odds on the Steelers, they’re thought to have a 1.4 percent chance of going all the way. The Houston Texans have been attached to the longest odds at +20000.
The Steelers are +900 to win the AFC North, with bookmakers giving them a shot of a 10 percent probability. The Browns are +190, while the Ravens and Bengals are +200. All of the other teams pose major threats to the Steelers and they will make life very difficult.
Their shot at the AFC title has been linked to odds of +4000. A payout on such odds would be huge but, in spite of the defense, there’s not much that can be expected from them offensively. Who knows, though? Trubisky might turn out to be a top QB threat. But let’s just wait and see.
