Oakland Raiders vs. Pittsburgh Steelers Betting Odds, Analysis, NFL Pick

Recently, the Pittsburgh Steelers have been more successful than the Oakland Raiders—by a long shot. But over the last five meetings between the teams, the Raiders are 4-1 both straight up and against the spread, upsetting the Steelers four times. Suddenly resurgent Oakland would love to pull another upset Sunday at Heinz Field.

Point spread: Steelers opened as six-point favorites; the total was 47.5 early in the week, according to sportsbooks monitored by Odds Shark (line updates and matchup report).

NFL pick, via Odds Shark computer: 23.3-21.1 Raiders

Why the Raiders can cover the spread

The Raiders have won consecutive games for the second time this season already—which is saying something for this outfit—after beating the Jets last week, 34-20, taking that game outright as three-point home dogs.

Oakland spotted New York an early field goal, then scored the next 21 points of the game to take control. A Derek Carr 59-yard touchdown connection with Taiwan Jones early in the third quarter put the Raiders up, 28-6, and that was it.

On the day, Oakland outrushed the Jets, 118-74, a neat feat considering New York came into the game ranked third in the league in rushing and first against the run.

The Raiders are now 4-2 over their last six games, and the losses came on a field goal at the buzzer at Chicago and by six points against undefeated Denver. If the playoffs started today, Oakland would be the fifth seed in the AFC.

Why the Steelers can cover the spread

Pittsburgh just lost a tough game at home last week to Cincinnati, 16-10, upon the return of quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. The Steelers led the Bengals well into the fourth quarter, 10-6, before giving up the last 10 points of the game. Pittsburgh drove inside the Cincy red zone in the waning seconds but ran out of time.

For the game, the Steelers outgained the Bengals, 356-296, and outrushed them, 116-78, but Big Ben showed some rust, throwing three interceptions resulting in 10 Cincinnati points. Now, with another week of practice, perhaps Roethlisberger can recover some rhythm.

Smart pick

Oakland is suddenly a hot property, while Pittsburgh has lost two straight games and its leading rusher to a nasty knee injury. But in the NFL, what's hot one week is just as likely to be cool the next, and, of course, vice versa. The smart money here sides with the Steelers.

Betting trends

The Raiders are 2-10 SU and ATS in their last 12 games after winning as underdogs.

The Steelers are 8-2 SU and 7-2-1 ATS in their last 10 games after losses.

The Steelers are 4-10 ATS in their last 14 games as home favorites in November.

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.