Patriots, Steelers hit rock bottom with lowest over/under in three decades
There’s no arguing that the New England Patriots and Pittsburgh Steelers are both having down seasons, even by the lowest of standards.
But when the betting line for their Week 15 “Thursday Night Football” matchup was released on Monday, it certainly put into perspective exactly how little each team is thought of league-wide.
Though the Steelers opened as a six-point favorite, the over/under on the expected total points scored was set at 30, per CBS Sportsline, which is the lowest mark since the 1993 season.
That year, four games — the Patriots versus Cincinnati Bengals, the Chicago Bears versus Detroit Lions, the Patriots versus Indianapolis Colts and the Philadelphia Eagles versus New Orleans Saints had an over/under of 30 or less.
The Bears-Lions and Colts-Patriots games hold the record for the lowest over/under in NFL history, per StatMuse.
Both Pittsburgh and New England rank near the bottom of the league offensively, and both will be starting backup quarterbacks in Mitch Trubisky and Bailey Zappe, respectively.
The Steelers are 25th in total offense (294.9 yards per game) and 28th in scoring (16 points per game). The Patriots are 28th in total offense (290.4 yards per game) and they score the fewest points per game (12.3).
New England has scored more than 20 points just once this season and Pittsburgh just four times. The Pats have mustered just 13 over their last three games with a 7-yard Rhamondre Stevenson touchdown run against the New York Giants two weeks ago being the only touchdown the team has scored during that span.
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