Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Philadelphia Eagles Prediction & ATS Analysis

Pittsburgh Steelers at Philadelphia Eagles 12/15/24
When: 4:25 pm ET Sunday, Dec. 15
Where: Lincoln Financial Field
TV: Fox

Point spread: Pitt +5/Phil -5
Money line: Pitt +185/Phil -225
Over/under: 42.5

 
The Eagles and Steelers both lead their divisions heading into the 82nd edition of the Battle for Pennsylvania.
Sunday afternoon in Philadelphia.
 
The 11-2 Eagles sit atop the NFC East and just clinched a playoff berth. But they’re also still chasing Detroit in the race for the No. 1 seed for the upcoming NFC playoffs.
 
Meanwhile, the 10-3 Steelers lead the AFC North by two games over second-place Baltimore. But they’ve got some tough games coming up, so nothing’s in stone yet.
 

NFL Betting Odds

 
This Week 15 NFL betting market opened the Eagles at -5 for Sunday, with an O/U of right around 45. Early betting action dropped that total down 2.5 points to 42.5.
 
From four days out the forecast for Sunday in Philadelphia calls for a decent day for December, cloudy with temps in the 40’s.
 

Steelers Betting Preview

 
Pittsburgh just got a little taste of revenge last week, beating Cleveland 27-13. The Steelers, favored at -6.5, trailed the Browns 7-3 after one quarter. But Pittsburgh then scored the next 24 points of the game and eased home from there.
 
The Steelers actually got out-gained by Cleveland 300-267, but a good chunk of the yardage the defense allowed came in prevent mode.
 
Pittsburgh has now out-rushed seven of its last eight opponents.
 
Also, the Steelers are now 6-1 both SU and ATS this season with Russell Wilson at QB, averaging 28 PPG.
 
Three weeks ago, Pittsburgh had a five-game winning streak, which was snapped by a 24-19 loss against Cleveland. The Steelers then bounced back to win at Cincinnati 44-38, then won the rematch with the Browns.
 
At 10-3 overall, Pittsburgh now leads the AFC North by two games over 8-5 Baltimore, with four games to go. However, the Steelers have some tough games coming up, including a date with the Ravens next week, so they haven’t clinched anything yet.

Eagles Betting Preview

 
Meanwhile, Philadelphia flies a nine-game winning streak into Sunday after holding off Carolina last Sunday 22-16. The Eagles, favored at -14, trailed the Panthers 16-14 through three quarters. Philly finally took the lead for good early in the fourth, then held on by their wingtips from there for the underwhelming victory.
 
The Eagles actually got out-gained by Carolina 302-292 but ran the ball for 209 yards. So Philadelphia has now out-rushed 11 of its last 12 opponents.
 
Last Sunday’s uninspiring performance against a 3-win Panthers team came on the heels of a 24-19 victory at Baltimore the previous week. So perhaps a letdown should have been expected.
 
Three weeks ago, the Eagles ran the ball for 314 yards and beat the Rams in Los Angeles 37-20.
 
At 11-2 overall, Philadelphia can clinch the NFC East title with a victory Sunday. But the Eagles also still trail 12-1 Detroit by one game in the battle for the top seed in the NFC.
 
These teams last met two seasons ago, a 35-13 Philly home victory. Jalen Hurts threw four touchdown passes that day for the Eagles against Kenny Pickett for Pittsburgh.
 
On the injury front, Steelers WR George Pickens, who missed last week’s game with a bad hammy, is still listed as questionable for Sunday.
 

Common Opponents

 
These teams have played seven common opponents this season; members of the AFC North, NFC East and Atlanta. Philadelphia played those foes to 6-1, both SU and ATS, and +99 YPG, Pittsburgh to 6-2, both SU and ATS and +10 YPG.
 

By the Numbers

 
The Steelers are averaging 338 YPG on offense this season, 132 on the ground. Defensively Pittsburgh is holding opponents to 310 YPG, 92 of those on the ground. This while playing what Sagarin (Sagarin.com) ranks as the 30th-toughest schedule in the League.
 
The Eagles are averaging 371 YPG on offense, 191 on the ground, while holding foes to a League-low 284 YPG, 106 on the ground. This while playing Sagarin’s No. 28 schedule.

NFL Betting Angle

 
Teams that out-rush their opponents this season are covering the spread at a 66 percent clip.
 

Totals Report

 
The overs are 7-6 in Steelers games this season, which are averaging 43 total points. But that point average jumps to 50 in games Wilson played QB.
 
The Under is 8-5 in Eagles games, which are averaging 44 points.
 
The Over is 107-100 in the NFL this season.
 

Game Props

 
Both teams to score at least 24.5 points is priced at +650.
 

Free NFL Betting Pick

 
The talk this week is about Philadelphia’s problems with the passing game. Then again, if you’re running the ball for 190 YPG, why throw it? We expect the Eagles to win the ground battle in this game, which is a good start toward victory and the money. Also, Philly is coming off a dull performance last week; we expect sharper this week. Also, the Eagles own the better performance, yardage-wise, vs. common opponents. The number on this game seems a little funny but as our old bookie used to tell us – there’s not much difference between 3.5 and 5.5 in the NFL. We like Philadelphia, minus the points.