3 Reasons To Bet The Redskins Vs. Pittsburgh On MNF

Kirk Cousins and the defending NFC East champion Redskins are home underdogs to Pittsburgh on Monday Night Football. (Photo credit: Keith Allison via Foter.com / CC BY-SA)

Other than Green Bay, Dallas or New England, there might not be a more popular team in the NFL than the Pittsburgh Steelers.

People love to cheer for them. People love to watch them. And people sure love to bet on them.

So it’s pretty interesting that the point spread on Pittsburgh’s game at Washington Monday night has moved against the Steelers.

Even though the line moved by half a point, it wasn’t just “half a point”. It moved half a point from 3 (the biggest key number in NFL betting) to 2.5, which indicates either a lot of money has come in on the Redskins or someone whose opinion the sportsbooks respect likes Washington.

So why is the big money supporting the Redskins on Monday night?

Here are 3 possible reasons:

1. Pittsburgh isn’t as good on the road

Take the Steelers’ potent offence away from Heinz Field, and it’s suddenly not as potent anymore.

Ben Roethlisberger threw just 5 TD passes in 6 road games last year (he missed a couple due to injury) while serving up 9 interceptions. Compare that to his play at home, when he had a 16:7 touchdown to interception ratio.

Over the past four seasons, the Steelers are two games under .500 on the road. And that includes their annual victory in Cleveland.

2. The Steelers are thin on offence

Normally, the absence of WR Markus Wheaton wouldn’t be that big of a deal.

However, he was slated to be the No. 2 receiver Monday night for Pittsburgh. The Steelers are already without RB Le’Veon Bell and WR Martavis Bryant, two of Roethlisberger’s favourite weapons.

Their absences will make it easier for the Washington defence to key on Antonio Brown. Not that it’ll be easy to stop Brown, but it’ll be easier.

Pittsburgh will also have to play without Roosevelt Nix, the lone fullback on its roster. Blocking could be an issue for the Steelers.

3. Washington’s pass defence has improved


It’s no secret that the Steelers’ greatest strength is their passing game.

Last year, a matchup with Washington would have favoured Pittsburgh. The Redskins ranked near the bottom of the league in pass defence.

However, Washington has upgraded its secondary significantly with the signing of Josh Norman. The top-paid cornerback in the league this year, Norman could be assigned to shadow Antonio Brown – especially now that the Steelers are without several of their other top receivers.