The NFL is back for Week 14 of the 2023 season as the Pittsburgh Steelers host the New England Patriots at the Acrisure Stadium in this week's edition of Thursday night football.
The Steelers are currently 7-5 for the season after their defeat at the weekend, while the Patriots are 2-10 so far this season having lost each of their last five games in a horrendous campaign to date.
We'll take a look at the match-up and provide you with our best free NFL betting picks to see if we can earn you some extra cash while you enjoy the action on the field.
Click here for more NFL betting odds.
Pittsburgh Steelers vs New England Patriots information
- Thursday,7th December 2023
- Acrisure Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- 20:15 ET kick-off
Season so far
The Steelers have had a mixed bag of results in the early weeks of the season, and it all started with a thumping defeat in week 1 at home against the San Francisco 49ers as they were well beaten 30-7.
Week 2 was better as they earned a hard-fought 26-22 win over the Cleveland Browns, before making it back-to-back wins in week 3 with a 23-18 win against the Las Vegas Raiders on the road. Then they came across the Houston Texans where they were once again well beaten, failing to score in the first, second or fourth quarter while Houston smashed 30 points past them.
Pittsburgh brushed that off in week five when they came up against the Baltimore Ravens to win 17-10, before they repeated the victory against Los Angeles Rams to earn a 24-17 scoreline.
Week 8 saw them host the Jacksonville Jaguars but they couldn't keep up with their offense and lost 20-10 as they managed just one touchdown in the game, but they won their next two games against the Tennessee Titans 20-16 and Green Bay Packers.
The Steelers have since lost two of their last three though after losing 10-13 to the Browns and 24-10 to the Arizona Cardinals in their most recent game, with a 16-10 win over the Cincinnati Bengals sandwiched between them.
New England have had an absolutely appalling season this year and are already firmly out of the running to make it to the playoffs.
The Patriots lost their first two games of the season with a 25-20 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles and a 24-17 loss to the Miami Dolphins, but earned their first win in week 3 when they beat the New York Jets on the road 15-10.
Back-to-back heavy defeats followed however as the Dallas Cowboys slapped them 38-3 in week 4, before the New Orleans Saints stopped them scoring at all in a 34-0 whitewash in week 5. Week 6 saw a closer game against the Las Vegas Raiders but they once again were beaten, this time in a 21-17 game.
The Buffalo Bills came to the Gilette Stadium next and were shocked as the Patriots earned a stunning 29-25 win to snap the losing streak, but since then it's been nothing but defeat.
The Dolphins earned a 31-17 win in their second meeting of the season before the Washington Commanders claimed a 29-17 win and the Indianapolis Colts claimed a 10-6 in Frankfurt, Germany before a bye in week 11.
Since returning they have tightened up defensively but haven't been able to score, losing 10-7 to the New York Giants and then losing 6-0 o the Los Angeles Chargers in their two most recent outings.
NFL picks: Pittsburgh Steelers -6 @ -107
The Steelers aren't a particularly good football team right now, but they're better than the Patriots and by a decent margin too.
New England became the first side in the history of the NFL to lose three in a row despite conceding 10 or less points at the weekend, which suggests they're doing something right defensively. But to be able to push on and start winning games, that will surely mean opening up a bit more offensively and that could lead them to some trouble.
Pittsburgh lost their quarterback Kenny Pickett to an ankle injury against Arizona, and he needs surgery which means he will miss this game and Mitchell Trubisky will come into the team in his place.
He will have a point to prove and with the way New England have been performing offensively, Pittsburgh may only need to score two touchdowns for this to land. At -107 there's good value in the bet and we'd back this to come in.
Check out our review for BetOnline sports betting here.
NFL picks: Over 31 total points @ -110
Bearing in mind recent points tallies in Patriots games this may seem like an unlikely bet on paper.
But this season over their 12 games Pittsburgh have averaged 16 points scored per game, while defensively they have allowed an average of 19 points per game. Of their 12 games this season, eight of them have surpassed this points total.
New England on the other hand have averaged just 12.3 points scored per game, while defensively they have allowed a huge 21.16 points per game. Should they maintain their averages this total will land. Add to that eight of their 12 games this season have also surpassed this points total, which suggests it could well land once again.
There is more value in backing it to go over the 31 points, and when the numbers suggest it's a real possibility it would be silly to go against it.
Check out our review for Bovada sports betting here.
