Buccaneers at Steelers 8/9/19 - NFL Betting Picks & Odds
Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. Pittsburgh Steelers
NFL: 7:30 PM EST
Aug. 09, 2019
TV: NFL
Latest Odds : PIT -2.5 Total 37
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers visit Heinz Field on Friday to play the Pittsburgh Steelers in the opening game of the preseason for both.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers start the Bruce Arians era in 2019 as the head coach un-retired and brought with him most of his former coaching staff. Jameis Winston will be the focal point on the Bucs offense. The talented quarterback will be playing for one of the best quarterback coaches in Arians, who has said the team is Winston’s. Mike Evans returns as the top wide receiver but the Bucs also will have Chris Godwin and tight ends O.J. Howard and Cameron Brate. Peyton Barber will be the top back in camp.
Todd Bowles will run the defense for the Bucs and use an attacking 3-4. Jason Pierre-Paul had 12.5 sacks last season and returns. Vita Vea the top pick out of Washington last season had a slow start but came on strong. Linebacker Devin White out of LSU is the biggest new addition on the defense. The secondary will be led by Carlton Davis and Vernon Hargreaves at the corners, while the preseason will be used to look at three draft picks in the secondary.
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Pittsburgh enters 2019 with a huge weight off its shoulders as both Antonio Brown’s theatrics and Le’Veon Bell ‘s holdouts are no longer an issue. Ben Roethlisberger returns as the Steelers quarterback. The preseason will focus on finding replacements for Bell and Brown. Big Ben will not play much but Joshua Dobbs, Mason Rudolph and Devlin Hodges will see action under center. JuJu Smith-Schuster takes over as the top wide receiver and Donte Moncrief was picked up from the Saints. James Conner played in place of Bell last season and is the starter with rookie Benny Snell set to see action this week.
Defensively, the Steelers played well in 2018 and should be even stronger in 2019. Devin Bush was drafted and the defensive back will see plenty of action on Friday. The Steelers also signed linebacker Mark Baron and DB Steve Nelson. The Steelers used three picks in the sixth round on defensive players. The first two preseason games will be used to find the right combination of players and especially Week 1 against a Tampa Bay team that loves to pass.
Recent Betting Trends:
Tampa Bay is 5-1-1 ATS in its last 7
The UNDER has cashed in 5 of the Buccaneers last 6
Pittsburgh is 4-9 ATS in its last 13 at home
The OVER has cashed in 11 of the Steelers last 15 at home
Free Betting Pick: Pittsburgh Steelers -2.5
Pittsburgh will use this game to find its backup for Big Ben and try out the new wide receivers as the Steelers move on from Brown and Bell. The Steelers defense top to bottom is as good if not better than last season and will use several high draft picks to find the right player alignment. Tampa Bay is starting out new with Bruce Arians at the helm and his new system will take time to be fully implemented – advantage Steelers. Final Score Prediction, Pittsburgh Steelers win and cover ATS 27-17