Pennsylvania Sports Betting: Eagles or Steelers as Champs?

With the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Philadelphia Eagles in the playoffs, you should expect some hot Pennsylvania sports betting this week. Though in different conferences, these two cities share an intense rivalry.

So the question is, which team has a better chance of going all the way? Current Super Bowl odds have both teams as massive +6600 odds, and their Wild Card Weekend matchups are challenging.

Can the Steelers and Eagles survive this weekend? And which Pennsylvania city will own NFL bragging rights with a deeper playoff run? Read on to find out.

Philadelphia Eagles (+9) at Tampa Bay Buccaneers

• Date: Jan. 16, 2022
• Time: 1:00 P.M. EST
• Venue: Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, FL

The Eagles start the playoffs against defending Super Bowl Champion, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. It’s an incredible feat considering Philadelphia was 4-6 through their first ten games, a stretch that included a loss to the Bucs.

What spurred this turnaround? Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni changed his offense. The Eagles transformed into a run-first offense that embraced QB Jalen Hurts’ skill-set and ended the season as the top rushing team.

The Eagles then went 5-2 over their final seven games, with Hurts totaling 784 rushing yards on the season. Hurts’ RB counterpart, Miles Sanders, finished the season with 754 yards.

The Bucs are ready to clip the Eagles’ wings. The Bucs rushing defense finished third in the league, allowing an average of 92.5 yards per game. At home, the Bucs defense averages only 88.4 per game.

Then there is the offense, featuring Tom Brady under center. The Bucs passing game is the most productive in the league, averaging 307.6 yards, and they score the second-most points, 30.1.

I believe that this matchup presents problems for the Eagles, as the Bucs defense can neutralize Philly’s ground game.

Pittsburgh Steelers (+12.5) at Kansas City Chiefs

• Date: Jan. 16, 2022
• Time: 8:15 P.M. EST
• Venue: GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, MO

The Steelers needed a lot of help to get into the playoffs, including a huge upset victory by the Jacksonville Jaguars over the Indianapolis Colts.

Now they have to face last season’s Super Bowl LV runners-up and Super Bowl LIV winners, the Kansas City Chiefs.

With this playoff berth, the Steelers’ veteran QB, Ben Roethlisberger, is writing a fairytale in his final season. Unfortunately, the Chiefs are poised to turn the twilight of Big Ben’s career into a nightmare.

Pittsburgh’s offense scored over 30 points only once this season, and they average only 6.7 points in the first half.

When these teams met in Week 16, the Steelers turned the ball over three times, and the defense didn’t have an answer for Mahomes and company, who scored 23 points in the first half.

Can the Steelers figure out a way to keep up? I’m not sure, considering the Pittsburgh offense scored fewer than 20 points in three of the season’s final four games. One thing in Pittsburgh’s favor is their pass defense, which ranks ninth in passing yards allowed per game. In their previous three matchups, they’ve only allowed 175 yards per game. The key for Pittsburgh will be to score points in the first half.

Pennsylvania Sports Betting: Can the Steelers or the Eagles Go All the Way?

Should the Eagles advance, they’ll face the Green Bay Packers. However, if the Steelers survive, they’ll play a Tennessee Titans team they’ve beaten once already.

Because of this, I believe the Steelers stand a much better chance to win should they pull off a win this week against the Chiefs.

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