Steelers Are The Hot Team Right NOw
The 12-5 Pittsburgh Steelers and the 12-4 Kansas City Chiefs get things started in this Sunday’s NFL Divisional Round Playoffs. The game is at Arrowhead Stadium with the second of two matchups in the AFC. Kickoff is set for 1:05 p.m. (ET). The game will be broadcast nationally on CBS. When it comes to betting this game at BetAnySports, the Chiefs have been opened as slight 1.5-point home favorites and the total line has been set at 46. The line has been bet up to 2.5 and the total is down to 45.
The Steelers stayed on a roll in the Wild Card Round. After winning their last seven games of the regular season they hammered Miami 30-12 as 11.5-point home favorites this past Sunday. The total line in that game stayed UNDER 47. The total has now stayed UNDER BetAnySports’ closing line in nine of their last 14 games. Pittsburgh has gone a profitable 6-1-1 against the spread during this eight-game span.
A heavy dose of Le’Veon Bell running the ball paced the Steelers’ win last week. He ended that game with 167 rushing yards and two scores on 29 carries. Ben Roethlisberger completed 13 of his 18 passing attempts with Antonio Brown on the receiving end of five of those completions for 124 yards and two scores. Known as the Killer B’s, Pittsburgh’s chances to advance to the AFC title game rests on these three player’s shoulders.
Chiefs Look to Slowdown Steelers
Kansas City had the week off by virtue of the second-best record in the AFC. It went 9-7 ATS this season and the total stayed UNDER in 10 of its 16 games. The Chiefs built up some solid momentum of their own with a 5-1 run (SU and ATS) in their last six regular season games. The total went OVER BetAnySports’ closing line in four of those contests.
While the Chiefs may not be able to match the offensive firepower that Pittsburgh brings into this AFC tilt, they remain one of the most consistent teams in the league on that side of the ball. Veteran quarterback Alex Smith has some trustworthy targets in tight end Travis Kelce and wide receiver Tyreek Hill and Spencer Ware did a good job of anchoring the running game. The biggest edge is on the other side of the ball with a Kansas City defense that was ranked seventh in the NFL in points allowed (19.4).
The Steelers crushed Kansas City 43-14 in the regular season as 3.5-point home favorites, but that was back in early October. Look for a much closer game this time around that stays UNDER BetAnySports’ current 45-point total line.
