Las Vegas Sun

March 18, 2024

Sports Betting:

Vegas Play of the Day: Steelers at Chiefs

Steelers-Chiefs

Tom Puskar / AP

Pittsburgh Steelers running back Le’Veon Bell (26) carries the ball during the first half of an NFL football game against the Kansas City Chiefs in Pittsburgh, Sunday, Dec. 21, 2014.

We’ve entered the third season of the annual South Point-lined Play of the Day competition, effective July 1.

Starting bankrolls have reset to $10,000, with the maximum bet being to win $1,000 and the minimum wager $300. Ray Brewer won the 2015-2016 season after Taylor Bern prevailed in 2014-2015. Bern stepped away in the middle of the 2016-2017 season with a 16-12 record and $13,317 bankroll, with Mike Grimala taking his place.

Pittsburgh Steelers plus-110 at Kansas City Chiefs, $500 to win $550:

The Steelers are the hottest team in the NFL now that they are healthy on offense, and I’m confident enough in them to forgo the point spread and bet Pittsburgh on the money line.

Pittsburgh is plus-2 heading into the divisional round against Kansas City — only the second time all year the Steelers have been underdogs and the first time with Ben Roethlisberger under center.

The Steelers enter the contest on an eight-game winning streak in which they’ve outscored their opponents by more than 10 points per game. Over that span, Le’Veon Bell has averaged 136 yards per game from scrimmage and has scored seven touchdowns. While the Chiefs do have a capable defense, they have struggled against the run, ranking 26th in the league with 121 rushing yards allowed per game.

The real reason Kansas City is favored in this spot is because of home-field advantage, but the Chiefs were only 3-5 against the spread at Arrowhead Stadium this season. On the other side, Pittsburgh has won four straight games on the road and is 4-0 against the spread during its winning streak.

The weather will be nasty, and Roethlisberger is far more reliable under these circumstances than Alex Smith, so I’ll take the Steelers to win the game outright.

Current Standings: Keefer (35-24-2, $12,031), Brewer (21-18-1, $10,095), Grimala (3-2, $10,500), Granger (5-10, $5,850)

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