Pittsburgh Steelers at Arizona Cardinals
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The casual bettor last saw the Arizona Cardinals getting hammered in a 34-10 contest to the Minnesota Vikings as 3.5-point road underdogs in Week 5.
Minnesota running back Adrian Peterson was a man possessed on that day, scoring three touchdowns in the first quarter, demonstrating that he was worth the offseason contract extension that he signed.
Arizona is now coming off a bye week and will look to push its home record to 2-1, while trying to stay somewhat in the NFC West division race, as San Francisco has jumped out to a 5-1 mark.
The Cardinals will receive points for the second time this year inside University of Phoenix Stadium, dropping a 31-27 decision to the New York Giants when getting a point.
It was an unfortunate loss due to being outscored 21-7 in the final 15 minutes, which likely attributed to getting jumped on by 28 points in the Twin Cities the following week.
A bye came at the right time and will likely move the team's record to 4-0 ATS as a home underdog of 3.5 to 7 points.
Pittsburgh comes in with a 4-2 record and will try to even its record away from Heinz Field, but the defending AFC champions have had trouble against passing teams on the road.
Don't be blinded by the defense's No. 1 ranking against the pass, as many teams would fall into that position after playing three of six games against Indianapolis, Jacksonville and Seattle.
Road defeats to Baltimore (35-7) and Houston (17-10) demonstrate that balanced teams can have success versus the defending AFC champions.
The Steelers are in a major look-ahead spot with New England on deck, while also coming in with a 1-6 ATS record on turf.
Head coach Mike Tomlin's squad is built to play in cold weather and on a natural surface.
Early bettors agree.
Pick: Arizona Cardinals (+3.5 or higher only)