Free Pick | Sunday | NFL | Oct. 13

#280 Las Vegas Raiders +3 over Pittsburgh Steelers 3:05 PM CT

Pittsburgh has won back-to-back years in this series in close, low-scoring games. The Steelers have slipped to 3-2 from 3-0 with back-to-back 3-point losses. Pittsburgh was nearly doubled-up in yardage last week but held the lead hosting Dallas into the final minute, unable to get the 4th down stop Sunday night. That game had a delayed start making for a late night and shortened week ahead of a trip to Las Vegas as this doesn’t look like an ideal scheduling set-up for the Steelers to get back on track after the surprisingly strong start to the season. Russell Wilson is back in practice and could be considered to see the field at some point even as Justin Fields has played well, a situation that may not be beneficial in the short term. Pittsburgh has been fortunate with an 8-4 edge in turnovers this season with Fields at quarterback, but all three wins have been close games, as the Steelers are 26th in the NFL in scoring.  Antonio Pierce has announced a quarterback change as Aidan O’Connell will start this week. O’Connell had some positive moments while appearing in 11 games last season and could provide a spark to the team. The Raiders have faced the fourth toughest set of pass defenses this season and while Pittsburgh has been a strong run defense, the numbers against the pass have been average. Pittsburgh has closed at -2.5 in each of the team’s past four games going 2-2 S/U and ATS. Now facing a Raider team making a quarterback change alongside negative headlines and poor numbers, and the Steelers are just -3 as the market is showing a clear distrust of Pittsburgh in this situation.