Monday Night Football Picks: Washington vs. Steelers & Bills vs. 49ers
While the Bills and 49ers were previously slated to play Monday Night Football, the Washington Football Team versus Pittsburgh Steelers was added because of the ongoing pandemic. Two football games on Monday? Yes, please. Here is a sports betting preview with Monday Night Football betting picks for both primetime games.
[Bet WAS-PIT UNDER 43.5 Points at BetMGM]
[Bet BUF-SF OVER 46.5 Points at FanDuel]
Monday Night Football Odds: WAS vs. PITT
Despite a massive discrepancy in rest time, the Steelers remain relatively sizable home favorites against the Washington Football Team. Opening at -11, 69% of bets on the Pittsburgh spread are not enough to keep the line moving in the direction of the Football Team. Perhaps, the long break after Thanksgiving is factoring into the decision. The total hasn’t moved much, with bookmakers and bettors alike not expecting many points.
Washington Football Team vs. Pittsburgh Steelers Picks
Ben Roethlisberger popped up on the injury report on Friday with a knee injury but seems likely to play in tonight’s game. James Conner, however, will likely miss despite being eligible to play on Monday Night. Benny Snell will tote the rock for the Steel crew with some work likely provided to Anthony McFarland.
That said, the strength of the Steelers is not the running game. The new-look, aerial offense from the Steelers is rife with too many weapons to choose from. DFS players will be frustrated when attempting to sort out which of the viable options to play in single-game contests — Diontae Johnson, JuJu Smith-Schuster, Chase Claypool, heck, even Eric Ebron are all very playable on tonight’s short slate of games.
Alex Smith continues his miraculous return to football and will attempt to continue Washington’s path towards a potential playoff spot. After the New York Giants upset the Seahawks on Sunday, a win versus Pittsburgh seems vital. While Smith presents a warm, fuzzy story made for cable television — prepare for plenty of video packages — Pittsburgh’s defense is not looking to play a role in the comeback tale. The Steelers’ defense leads the league in scoring (17.1 points against per game) because of a dominant 10.15% sack-rate, 193.2 opponent passing yards per game, and 105.7 opponent rushing yards per game. This defense is scary. Even after a very short break, the Pittsburgh defense presents a tough test for a Washington offense incapable of pushing the ball down the field.
I don’t know where the points are coming from in this early game. Pittsburgh is often inconsistent and the Football Team’s defense is pretty good. Genuinely, I don’t know how Washington scores a ton of points against this Pittsburgh defense. This game might be pretty ugly. Give me the under at BetMGM.
Monday Night Football Pick: UNDER 43.5 (-105) at BetMGM
Monday Night Football Odds: BUF vs. SF
The Bills opened as 2.5-point favorites on the road against San Francisco. The line moved all the way over to -1 favoring San Francisco before falling into flux between each team being favored by a point, depending the online betting site.
The total suggests a more exciting contest occurs in the primetime window — settling in at at 46.5 or 47. Up to this point, 81% of the moneyline action sits with the Buffalo Bills but you can find favorable money odds if you shop around sites.
Monday Night Football Picks for Bills vs. 49ers
The 49ers are about as healthy as they are going to get for the 2020 season ahead of tonight’s home contest versus the Buffalo Bills — aside from the quarterback position. Nick Mullens will lead the offense that returned Raheem Mostert in Week 12 and could return Tevin Coleman. The 49ers’ pair of young wide receivers, Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk, are ready for the contest and seem poised to make strides as the new dynamic duo in San Francisco. The 49ers are still contending for a playoff spot: a win tonight brings the San Francisco record to 6-6 and places them firmly on the bubble for the 7th playoff spot.
The Bills, also healthy, will play only be without John Brown. Stefon Diggs sits in the top ten of the NFL in both targets (110) and receptions (80) — proving to be the alpha that the Bills’ offense needed to become a legitimate playoff contender. For a while, Josh Allen seemed like a reasonable darkhorse MVP candidate. While that steam is running out thanks to, well, the existence of Patrick Mahomes — the Bills’ offense throws north of 60% of the time and is no longer the run-first defensive team from recent years. The offense wants to move the ball through the air and Allen’s dynamic dual-threat capabilities make the Bills’ offense very difficult to defend.
The Bills’ defense, though, gives up more through the air than previous squads (7.0 yards per pass attempt). So, while Nick Mullens is tasked mainly with managing the football game, the 49ers might look to exploit the Buffalo defense through the air with their dynamic playmakers outside.
Like sportsbooks and bettors, I am unsure what to do with a side for this game. While the line keeps yo-yo’ing between San Francisco and Buffalo, I am more interested in the game total. I think this game goes over with the Bills’ offense pacing the contest. The 49ers will have to score points to keep up. Give me the over on FanDuel Sportsbook.
Monday Night Football Pick: OVER 46.5 (-115) at FanDuel
*Note: I think my plan for tonight will be to find the best numbers throughout the day on a single book and tease the totals in the aforementioned directions. So, I plan to probably tease both 6 points on whichever online betting site permits.
Monday Night Football Picks – Player Props
Terry McLaurin UNDER 69.5 Receiving Yards at DraftKings Sportsbook
The Pittsburgh Steelers defense is going to suffocate the Washington offense. With no true threat downfield, the clamps can be put on Terry McLaurin and most of the room underneath the defense. McLaurin is a supreme route-runner and probably one of the more underrated, young wide receivers in the game. With that said, I respectfully don’t see a ton of room for him to work, tonight. Give me the under at DraftKings.
Stefon Diggs OVER 6.5 Receptions at DraftKings Sportsbook
Staying on DraftKings because of a +125 price, I am going to gamble a bit on Diggs’ reception total. This number hovers right around his average receptions per game (7.3) should be met if he sees double-digit targets based on his Catch % (72.7). Further, a +125 price tag lowers the breakeven points just enough for me to be enticed by this bet. I am going to roll the dice a bit and hope Diggs gets peppered early. Give me the over on DraftKings.
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