Patriots vs. Steelers odds: Pittsburgh set as Week 7 home underdog against New England

The Pittsburgh Steelers are 10-5 straight up and 11-2-2 against the spread in their last 15 games as a home underdog. The Steelers hope to enjoy more success as a home underdog this Sunday hosting the New England Patriots.

Pittsburgh is a 7.5-point home underdog at Heinz Field at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com. This is the first time in 2016 that the Steelers have been a betting underdog.

Through the first six games of the regular season, Pittsburgh has looked good in its four wins and awful in its two losses. The Steelers are 4-0 ATS in their wins with an average margin of victory of 19.3 points per game, but put up total dud performances in road losses of 34-3 in Philadelphia and 30-15 to Miami.

The Miami loss last week was particularly bad in that the Steelers also lost Ben Roethlisberger to a torn meniscus. Roethlisberger isn't expected to miss too much time, but he will be out in favor of Landry Jones this week.

The Steelers haven't had much success against the Patriots over the last 18 years with a 3-9 SU and 3-8-1 ATS record in their last 12 games against New England per the OddsShark NFL Database.

Betting Line / Total: New England -7.5 / 45.5 Points

Trend: The total has gone UNDER in eight of the Steelers' last 10 games.

Trend: The Patriots are 11-1 SU in their last 12 games in October.

After getting off to a slow start in the first quarter, the New England Patriots found their groove and blew the Cincinnati Bengals away 35-17 last Sunday. Tom Brady now owns a passer rating of 135.5 with six touchdown passes and no interceptions in his first two games back from suspension.

The Patriots have the best record in the AFC at 5-1 SU and ATS, and a road win this week would put New England firmly in the driver's seat for the conference's top seed. New England is 11-1 in its last 12 games played in October.

Sunday's total is set at 45.5 points. The OVER is 8-3 in the last 11 meetings between Pittsburgh and New England.

With Roethlisberger healthy, this game would have all of the makings of a shootout. But with Jones under center, Pittsburgh's defense is going to have to step up big against the Patriots' high-powered offense to keep this game close.

New England Patriots at Pittsburgh Steelers

When: Sunday, Oct. 23, 4:25 p.m. ET

Where: Heinz Field, Pittsburgh

Patriots at Steelers OddsShark Matchup Report