Packers open as 3.5-point underdogs vs Steelers

The opening lines over at DraftKings have the Green Bay Packers listed as underdogs to the Pittsburgh Steelers by 3.5 points. After blowing out a team led by a backup QB during a rainstorm, the Packers did not appear to do enough to move the needle in their favor for their first road contest since coming out of their bye week in a loss to the Denver Broncos.

The Steelers are coming off one of their better offensive performances of the season. They set a new season high of 22 first downs and acquired 326 yards of offense. Their defense almost let them down, allowing the Titans even better marks of 23 and 340, respectively. The turnover battle may have been the deciding factor with the Steelers getting one takeaway without giving and up.

The Packers' offense finally looked like it had some juice, despite the weather. Jordan Love had his best statistical passing performance since the Week 3 comeback win against the New Orleans Saints. The team also managed to amass a staggering 184 yards on the ground. This is far and away the highest mark for them so far in the 2023 season.

The Steelers' defense will likely be without All-Pro Minkah Fitzpatrick due to an ongoing hamstring injury as well as having lost their starting ILB Cole Holcomb in Week 9. Holcomb suffered a significant knee injury last Thursday and was placed on injured reserve this morning.

The Packers' defense did not seem to lose any steam after the trade departure of Rasul Douglas. Surprising standout performances by Carrington Valentine, Colby Wooden, and Isiah McDuffie kept the unit on track and held the Rams to only a field goal.

The over/under stands at 37 and the Packers’ moneyline is at +142. This means the expected combined score of the two teams should land right around 37 total points and the Packers are expected to win this matchup around 41% of the time.