Kenny Pickett is clearly the people’s choice in the Pittsburgh Steelers’ three-man quarterback competition. The weekend DraftKings promo could make it a little more fun with a $200 payout on $5 Steelers bets.
Coach Mike Tomlin plans to give the people what they want. The rookie from Pitt is expected to see significant playing time when the Steelers visit the Jacksonville Jaguars at 7 p.m. Saturday in their second game of the preseason at TIAA Bank Stadium.
Pickett shined last week as the Steelers beat the Seattle Seahawks 32-25 at home at Acrisure Stadium. The Jaguars are 0-2, losing 27-11 to the Las Vegas Raiders in the Hall of Fame Game in Canton and 24-13 to the Cleveland Browns last week.
Here are the Steelers bets and lines vs. Jaguars at DraftKings:
Spread: Steelers +3 (-110), Jaguars -3 (-110)
Moneyline: Steelers +150, Jaguars -170
Over/Under: 42 O (-110), 35.5 U (-110)
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Pittsburgh Steelers Preview
Tomlin says he is going to play Pickett in the first half this week. Last week, the first-round draft pick played in the second half and rallied the Steelers to victory.
The rationale in playing Pickett in the first two quarter is for him to get a chance to play against some of the Jaguars’ first-team defensive players. Versus the Seahawks, Pickett faced strictly backups.
Jaguars first-year coach Doug Pederson says he plans to play his starting defense into at least the early part of the second quarter.
Pickett was nearly perfect in his first game action at the NFL level. He completed 13 of 15 passes for 95 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions.
Pickett’s second scoring pass, a 24-yarder to Tyler Vaughns with three seconds remaining, gave the Steelers the victory.
Mitch Trubisky started and was 4-of-7 passing for 63 yards and a touchdown. Mason Rudolph followed and completed 9 of 15 attempts for 93 yards and a TD.
Anthony McFarland Jr. rushed for 56 yards in seven attempts in a strong early bid to strengthen a shaky hold on a roster spot. He had just three carries all last season, his second with the Steelers.
At training camp this week, Pickett got most of his reps with the second team. However, he is still listed as QB3 on the depth chart behind Trubisky and Rudolph.
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Pickett should be running an offense bolstered by the preseason debuts of running back Najee Harris and wide receiver Chase Claypool. Both missed last week’s game with injuries.
The Steelers are 13-4 in preseason games since 2017. They also have a 35-24 mark under Tomlin.
Jaguars starting quarterback Trevor Lawrence, the first overall selection in the 2021 NFL Draft, is expected to play through at the least the end of the first quarter.
In last week’s loss to the Browns, Lawrence connected on half of his 12 passes for 95 yards. He threw one touchdown and was not intercepted.
Jake Luton was 12 of 21 for 92 yards and one pick. C.J. Beathard hit on 4 of 7 passes for 34 yards and was intercepted once.
Jacksonville is implementing a new defensive scheme under new coordinator Mike Caldwell. The Jaguars have struggled so far on that side of the ball, giving up 51 points in two games.
The Browns’ Josh Dobbs, a former Steelers backup QB, was 10 of 13 for 108 yards and a score.
Doug Pederson was 8-8 in four preseasons as the Philadelphia Eagles’ head man from 2017-20.
Steelers Bets We Like
Steelers +3 (-110) DraftKings
There are a lot of reasons to like the Steelers with the points. Two of the biggest are that Tomlin takes these games more seriously than most coaches and Pickett has plenty to prove as he at least tries to jump Rudolph on the depth chart.
Steelers +150 DraftKings
Let’s double down on the Steelers to win the game outright. At +150 on the Moneyline, their implied win probability is just 40%. That seems low.
Steelers Prediction
Pickett gets another chance to show what he can do in the professional ranks and should be able to move the ball on the Jaguars’ suspect defense.
Prediction: Steelers 28, Jaguars 20
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