Steelers vs. Panthers Prediction, Odds & Expert Picks Tonight: NFL Preseason Week 3

Mike Tomlin will feature most of his starters against the Carolina Panthers, as we provide our best two picks for tonight's final preseason game for both teams.

Gary Pearson

Last Updated: August 21, 2025 10:44 AM EDT • 4 minute read

Steelers vs. Panthers Prediction, Odds & Expert Picks Tonight: NFL Preseason Week 3 — Pictured: Pittsburgh Steelers running back Kaleb Johnson participates in drills as we make our best Steelers vs. Panthers prediction. Photo by Barry Reeger via Imagn Images.

The Carolina Panthers host the first of two NFL preseason games tonight when the Pittsburgh Steelers visit. My Steelers vs. Panthers prediction, part of our NFL preseason Week 3 predictions, focuses on Mike Tomlin and Dave Canales' opposing personnel decisions.

The Steelers are 4.5-point betting favorites at most shops entering the game at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, N.C. Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m. ET (NFL Network), and you can keep the ball rolling just one hour later with our Patriots vs. Giants prediction from Isaiah Sirois.

🏈 Steelers vs. Panthers prediction & expert picks tonight

🔎 Our NFL player prop odds tool can help you find the best NFL odds across legal sportsbooks in your area to make your NFL picks!

✅ Against the spread pick: Steelers -3.5 (-118 via bet365) ⭐⭐⭐⭐
✅ My best bet: Under 36.5 (-115 via FanDuel) ⭐⭐⭐

📊 Steelers vs. Panthers odds

Live updated odds from our best live betting sites. Follow the latest NFL scores for updated line movement and matchup info.

🪧 Steelers vs. Panthers opening odds:

Steelers: -2.5 (-115)
Panthers: +2.5 (-105)

🔮 Steelers vs. Panthers ATS prediction

Steelers vs. Panthers Prediction, Odds & Expert Picks: NFL Preseason Week 3 — Pictured: Alex Highsmith participates in drills during training camp as we offer our Steelers vs. Panthers Prediction. Photo by Charles LeClaire via Imagn Images

🏗️ Steelers -3.5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐

📊 Best odds: -118 via bet365 ($10 to win $8.47)
🔢 Implied probability: 54.13%

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After resting his starters in the first two weeks, Tomlin has confirmed that most of them will get some playing time in their preseason finale.

The exceptions are Aaron Rodgers, DK Metcalf, Cam Heyward, and T.J. Watt, who will watch their first-string colleagues face a wholesale second-string Panthers team. Panthers head coach Dave Canales confirmed his decision to rest all of his starters after they featured in both previous weeks.

Canales said he's happy with their conditioning, if nothing else. Even if the bulk of Pittsburgh's starters were set to ride the pine all game, I'd still back Tomlin's team to cover and secure their second win of the preseason.

Veteran Mason Rudolph and Skylar Thompson will run the show, the latter of whom was excellent against the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 1.

While he struggled to replicate that performance against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 2, I have more faith in that duo than in Carolina's Jack Plummer and recently signed Bryce Perkins. Andy Dalton won't play after injuring his elbow against the Houston Texans last week.

At -118, I'm going with bet365's 3.5-point spread. That price is steeper than the rest of our best sports betting apps, which offer -4.5 at odds between -105 and -110. However, with the value not being compromised enough to lay the extra point, I'm more confident with the buffer.

📖 Check out our 2025 NFL preseason betting guide for the best betting strategies and full NFL preseason schedule.

💰 Steelers vs. Panthers best bet

⬇️ Under 36.5 ⭐⭐⭐

📊 Best odds: -115 via FanDuel ($10 to win $8.70)
🔢 Implied probability: 53.49%

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With help from the starters, Carolina has mustered just 13 points in two preseason games. I can't see the backups, led by the third and fourth-string quarterbacks, spearheading an offensive explosion against a Pittsburgh defense that will, at least briefly, showcase most of its best players.

The Steelers' offense was efficient against the Jaguars in the preseason opener but struggled against Tampa Bay.

My only concern is that Carolina's second-string defense won't provide enough resistance if Rudolph and Thompson execute as well as they did in the opener.

Even if they do, I can't see the Panthers scoring enough points to push the total over the 36-point threshold. Of our best sportsbooks, FanDuel offers the best value.

🚑 Steelers vs. Panthers injuries

📈 Steelers vs. Panthers betting insights

Here are some betting insights from our best sports betting sites on Thursday morning

The spread opened at Carolina -1.5 but is leading across our NFL odds with Steelers -4.5
The moneyline shows similar movement, opening at Panthers (-130) but now trading with a best price of Steelers (-210)
The total opened at 36.5 and has dropped as low as 35 in some shops

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Written by:
Gary Pearson

Gary Pearson has written professionally since 2010, focusing on sports betting since 2014. Before entering the sports betting space, he contributed to the Canadian Press, FanSided, the Hockey Writers, the Calgary Herald, and other publications. His work has also been featured in Sports Illustrated and Bleacher Report. Gary, who consumes sports like a blue whale devours plankton, has a penchant for writing predictions and analyses across several sports, including hockey, soccer, football, tennis, and more. He bets regularly, preferring single-game picks, props, and live betting. While there isn't a sport he has yet to dabble in, Gary prefers betting on soccer, hockey, and football. He studied at various post-secondary institutions, including the University of Calgary, SAIT Polytechnic, and Griffith University, located in Brisbane, Australia. Gary has a marketing degree and completed his bachelor's degree in journalism at Griffith University. He feels strongly that life experience is as essential as post-secondary education, helping formulate more accurate predictions and analyses. Gary believes that competing at a high level of amateur sports during his formative years helped him better understand an athlete's psyche and the nuances and complexities of a team's dynamic, both on and off the playing surface. He feels that knowledge is immeasurably important when offering his analytical expertise. He has lived on five continents and currently resides in Canada.