How did the Pittsburgh Steelers team, players stack up against 2019 preseason odds?

Preseason odds for NFL teams are a good way to look back to see expectations for the season and start to understand where things went wrong or right. Below, we will take a look at DraftKings Sportsbook’s preseason odds for win totals, division titles, player props and more while we discuss what led to their triumphs or disappointments.

Team Futures

Super Bowl: +2000
AFC North: +150
Win Total Over/Under: 9

It’s pretty impressive that Pittsburgh wound up at 8-8 with a chance at the postseason, just one victory shy of pushing its win total. Ben Roethlisberger went down in Week 2, and was shut down for the season, which spiraled into an 0-3 start, losing four of the first five games.

The Super Bowl was almost immediately out of reach, sitting at +8000 after just three games. With the Ravens racing out of the gates, the division was essentially out of reach right away as well. The Steelers spent the season battling for a Wild Card spot with second and third-string QB play, and ultimately failed.

Player Props

Ben Roethlisberger passing yards: 4,300.5
Ben Roethlisberger passing TDs: 27.5
James Conner rushing yards: 1,050.5
James Conner rushing TDs: 10
JuJu Smith-Schuster receiving yards: 1,350.5
JuJu Smith-Schuster receiving TDs: 9.5
Vance McDonald receiving yards: 700.5
Vance McDonald receiving TDs: 6.5
TJ Watt DPOY: +6600
Benny Snell OROY: +5000 (added after Week 7)

Obviously, Roethlisberger props were easy wins/losses depending on how you bet them. Playing just a game and a half easily determined those outcomes, but another reason Pittsburgh had such a dreadful season was the injuries to the other skill players.

Conner played in just 10 games, finishing with 464 rushing yards and four touchdowns. JuJu played in 12 games, but was constantly banged up, basically recording a third of the stats he was projected for — 552 yards and three touchdowns. Not having his starting QB, or even a backup throwing to him consistently played a huge role in the unders hitting my such a wide margin.

McDonald did get to play in 14 games, but the QB play also hit him hard. The tight end finished with just 273 yards and three touchdowns, not even coming close to his totals.

Watt for DPOY would’ve been a strong future ticket to hold at +6600 given the hedging opportunity. Stephon Gilmore of the Patriots, who eventually won the award, opened as the favorite when DKSB offered live odds during the last month of the season. But Watt peaked at +250 during that span, the second favorite on the board behind Gilmore.

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