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Steelers vs. Panthers Odds, Picks, Predictions Week 15: Can Road Underdog Cover in Charlotte?

Kenny Ducey

Last Updated: December 18, 2022 3:54 AM EST • 2 min 29 sec read.

George Pickens of the Pittsburgh Steelers makes a catch for a 26-yard touchdown during a preseason game at Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Photo by Justin Berl/Getty Images via AFP.
George Pickens of the Pittsburgh Steelers makes a catch for a 26-yard touchdown during a preseason game at Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Photo by Justin Berl/Getty Images via AFP.

In Week 15, the Pittsburgh Steelers will travel to Charlotte to face the Carolina Panthers. Read on for our Steelers-Panthers pick and prediction.

The Steelers are down their starting signal caller and will have to turn back to either Mitch Trubisky or Mason Rudolph in Week 15 to keep their season afloat at 5-8. The Panthers are loving life under Sam Darnold at the moment, and will aim for their third straight win as they try to move to 6-8.

Here is our best Steelers vs. Panthers NFL pick for Week 15 (odds via PointsBet; pick confidence based on a 1-to-5-star scale).

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Steelers vs. Panthers Game Info

Date: Sunday, Dec. 18, 2022, 1 p.m. ET 
TV: CBS
Location: Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte, NC
Weather: 45 degrees, cloudy

Steelers vs. Panthers Odds

Steelers vs. Panthers Odds Analysis

The betting public has taken a side here, but it’s not as clear-cut as you’d think. Pittsburgh did open as a 1.5-point underdog, and that line is now all the way out to 3. With that in mind, the Panthers are only commanding 54% of the tickets as of this writing over at DraftKings and 58% of the handle

As for the total, 54% of the bets are on the Under here, though a resounding 82% of the dollars are currently on that same line. That’s caused the line to drop from 39 points to 37.5, depending on which shop you’re headed to.

Steelers vs. Panthers Pick

Steelers +3 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

I don’t think the Steelers are a terrible team with Mitch Trubisky at the helm. Yes, rookie Kenny Pickett gave this team a shot in the arm, but it’s Trubisky who is responsible for two of the five wins Pittsburgh has recorded this season and he’s fresh off a 276-yard showing in relief last week against Baltimore.

The main issue with Trubisky has been turnovers this season. He’s thrown five interceptions compared to four touchdowns, but Carolina is just 15th in interception rate this season and 23rd in takeaways per game. On top of that, the Panthers are 19th in DVOA against the pass.

I don’t think the assignment here is too tough for Trubisky, and he really shouldn’t have to be a world-beater considering Pittsburgh enters this one 12th in weighted DVOA. Sam Darnold hasn’t lost in two starts this season, but he’s thrown for a combined 284 yards in two weeks and had an 85.4 passer rating last time out. I think we should pump the brakes here on the hype train, and I’d also caution that Darnold’s best results came on play action this year, something Pittsburgh should be well-equipped to deal with particularly given it has one of the league’s best pass rushers.

I think this number is far too high; the Steelers are a better team than they’re getting credit for and can win in spite of Trubisky and/or Rudolph.

Steelers vs. Panthers Best Odds

PointsBet (-110)

Grabbing a non-juiced spread on the underdog is tough to do. PointsBet is giving you -110 odds on this, otherwise you’d be out of luck. Every other main shop is offering you -115 odds at minimum, with Caesars even hanging -120 on the spread.

With that, I’d have to say this is a pretty great deal. We normally see very small discrepancies between books when it comes to lines but the five cents here is significant, particularly when no other shops are budging off of the -115 odds.

Steelers-Panthers pick made 12/16/2022 at 5:15 p.m. ET.

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Written By:
Kenny Ducey
Kenny is a contributor for DraftKings and a former member of the Baseball Writers' Association of America. He's covered Tennis, Football, Basketball, and Baseball dating back to his time at Sports Illustrated. He's based out of New York, where sports have taken a turn for the worst, yet somehow his support for the Jets and Knicks has not wavered in the slightest.