Arizona Cardinals vs. Pittsburgh Steelers Betting Odds, Analysis, NFL Pick

The Arizona Cardinals will visit the Pittsburgh Steelers Sunday and hope to stay perfect on the road both straight up and against the spread. The Cardinals are coming off a 42-17 rout of the Detroit Lions as four-point favorites away from home last week, improving to 3-0 straight up and against the spread when playing away from University of Phoenix Stadium.

Point spread: Cardinals opened as 3.5-point favorites; the total was 45.5 early in the week, according to sportsbooks monitored by Odds Shark (line updates and matchup report).

NFL pick, via Odds Shark computer: 24.3-19.7 Cardinals

Why the Cardinals can cover the spread

Arizona has proved to be an elite offensive team this season, scoring 42 points or more in three of the past four games and averaging 38 per game overall. Two of those games took place on the road against the Chicago Bears and Detroit Lions, two teams with solid defenses that simply could not keep up with the Cardinals on the scoreboard.

Pittsburgh is nowhere near the same offensive team without injured starting quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, as backup Michael Vick does not have the same ability to throw downfield consistently. While Vick can make the occasional big play, the Steelers are one-dimensional offensively and almost totally dependent on running back Le’Veon Bell. Arizona’s success in this game will come down to how the defense contains him.

Why the Steelers can cover the spread

The Steelers are coming off a confidence-boosting 24-20 road victory against the San Diego Chargers on Monday night. That game had initially appeared to be a second straight loss without Roethlisberger, but Vick and Bell both came through on the final drive to help the Steelers steal a win. Their last two games have been close ones decided by four points or less, and Bell’s ability to run and catch the ball always keeps them competitive.

Pittsburgh has also played its best at home in October recently, going 4-0-1 against the spread in the past five games during this month at Heinz Field. Meanwhile, the Cardinals have struggled by losing eight of their past 10 road games in October. The Steelers are a better offensive team than Chicago and Detroit because of Bell’s presence in the backfield, even with Vick under center instead of Roethlisberger.

Smart pick

This will be Arizona’s toughest road game to date, and Pittsburgh has performed well lately as a home underdog with an 11-2-2 mark against the spread in its past 15 games under that scenario. Look for the Steelers to pressure Cardinals quarterback Carson Palmer and make him turn the ball over at least once, which will be enough to help Pittsburgh cover.

Betting trends

The total has gone over in six of the Cardinals' last seven games against the Steelers.

The Steelers are 4-0-1 against the spread in their last five games at home in October.

The Cardinals are 2-8 straight up in their last 10 games on the road in October.

All point spread and lines data courtesy of Odds Shark. All quotes gathered firsthand unless otherwise noted. Check out Twitter for injury and line movement updates and get the free odds tracker app.