Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Seattle Seahawks Betting Odds, Analysis, NFL Pick

The Pittsburgh Steelers (6-4) will be looking to defeat the Seattle Seahawks (5-5) for the fourth straight time when they visit CenturyLink Field on Sunday. The Steelers have blanked the Seahawks in each of the past two meetings at home by a combined score of 45-0, which followed a 21-10 victory in Super Bowl XL. Pittsburgh has also gone 3-0 against the spread in those games with the under cashing each time.

Point spread: Seahawks opened as 3.5-point favorites; the total was 44 early in the week, according to sportsbooks monitored by Odds Shark. (Line updates and matchup report)

NFL pick, via Odds Shark computer: 28.2-17.9, Seahawks

Why the Steelers can cover the spread

The Steelers have won their last two games and were able to get a little healthier during their bye week. Pittsburgh quarterback Ben Roethlisberger needed the time off to continue to heal a foot injury after he came off the bench to lead his team to a 30-9 home victory against the Cleveland Browns two weeks ago. Roethlisberger threw for 379 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions versus the Browns.

If Roethlisberger can stay injury-free at Seattle, he will have a shot to lead the Steelers to an upset victory. The Seahawks have not been playing nearly as good defensively as they have the previous two years when they went on to win the NFC. Pittsburgh’s offense is comparable to that of the Arizona Cardinals, who won, 39-32, at CenturyLink Field on November 15. And the Steelers beat the Cardinals, 25-13, four weeks earlier.

Why the Seahawks can cover the spread

Seattle is in must-win mode more than Beast Mode now with running back Marshawn Lynch battling an abdominal injury. According to ESPN's Adam Schefter, Lynch is not expected to play against the Steelers.

But the team has a more-than-capable backup in rookie Thomas Rawls, who had a career-high 209 yards on 30 carries in last week’s 29-13 win over the San Francisco 49ers. Rawls also had three catches for 46 yards and scored two touchdowns.

If the Seahawks can continue to get consistent production from the running game, that will take pressure off quarterback Russell Wilson. Against the 49ers, Wilson completed 24 of 29 passes for 260 yards with three touchdowns, and he also rushed nine times for 30 yards. That would not have been possible without Rawls.

Smart pick

Both of these teams are still in the hunt for the postseason, making for one of the best matchups in Week 12. But Pittsburgh’s defense has been playing better lately, and the team has gone an impressive 9-1 straight up in its past 10 games versus NFC West foes. The Steelers are also 6-1 ATS in their last seven games as road underdogs during the month of November, so look for them to hang tough and possibly pull off the upset.

Betting trends

The Steelers are 3-0 SU and ATS in their last three games against the Seahawks.

The Seahawks are 0-5-1 ATS in their last six games after a win.

The Steelers are 6-1 ATS in their last seven games as road underdogs 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.