Arizona Cardinals vs. Pittsburgh Steelers Prediction: Is Charlie Wright?
Is Charlie Wright? explores one NFL bet each week based on a major decision point. Ideally, this article will lay out a case for the bet in a thorough manner, giving the reader the opportunity to either agree with the perspective and tail the bet or disagree with the breakdown and fade the pick.
Was Charlie Wright? (ATL -0.5)
Yessir. Atlanta snagged a pick-six in the early going and never looked back. Helped that New Orleans was helpless in the red zone. The Falcons are now the favorites to win the NFC South.
Splits the props again. Russell Wilson passing yards under wasn’t a sweat (in a good way), and neither was Lamar Jackson passing yards over (in a bad way).
Records after Week 12
- Charlie: 8-4
- Prop Picks: 14-10
Week 13 Pick: Pittsburgh -5.5 (-110 on Fanatics Sportsbook)
Reason: The Steelers’ offense has been resurrected.
Could it be as simple as firing the offensive coordinator? Matt Canada was a disaster and a change was a long time coming. But to immediately throw up 421 yards in a dominant win, breaking the much-discussed 400-yard streak, was something.
The opponent was certainly a big factor. Cincinnati is now 31st in yards allowed per game. They’re 29th in rushing yards allowed per game, so it was no surprise to see Najee Harris rumble for a season-high 99 yards on the ground. Jake Browning struggled to maintain drives in his first start, and Pittsburgh had the ball for over 37 minutes.
While the offense piled up a bunch of yards, the Steelers still only managed 16 points. A fumble and two field goals in the red zone didn’t help. Still, hard to ignore the improvement in this offense. The impact on the locker room following Canada’s exit also had to be a lift.
And even if the offense isn’t fixed, Arizona won’t be the team to expose it. Only the Commanders allow more points per game than the Cardinals. Kyler Murray’s return hypothetically improves the offense, but they’ve manage just 18.33 points per game in his three starts. That’s not far off from where they were at with Joshua Dobbs and company.
PICK: Pittsburgh -5.5 (-110 on Fanatics)
NFL Player Props for Week 13
Michael Pittman Over 6.5 Receptions (-110 on BetMGM)
Pittman has been a target monster recently, racking up 46 over the past four games. He has seven games of 11+ targets this season. Tennessee allows the 4th-most receptions per game to wide receivers. Should see a heavy dose of Pittman and Josh Downs in this one, especially with Jonathan Taylor out.
Bijan Robinson Over 58.5 Rushing Yards (-115 on BetMGM)
We’re finally seeing a superstar workload for Robinson. After being held under 15 carries in 8-of-9 games, he’s earned 22 and 16 over the past two weeks. That’s resulted in a pair of 90+ yard rushing games. The Jets’ defense has struggled to slow down RBs, allowing the 2nd-most rushing yards per game. Tyler Allgeier and Cordarrelle Patterson continue to be factors, but Robinson’s role seems to be as secure as it’s been all season. Good spot for him to put up another strong effort.
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