Ricky Dimon
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Week 9 of the 2023 NFL season begins with Thursday Night Football between the Tennessee Titans and Pittsburgh Steelers. Neither team is particularly good, but at the same time both remain in the realistic playoff picture in the AFC. Tennessee comes in at 3-4 and tied for second in the AFC South; Pittsburgh is 4-3, which is good for a second-place tie in the AFC North.
On paper this isn’t the most compelling matchup, but we can spice it up with some betting action. Here is my Titans vs Steelers Same Game Parlay for the festivities, which kick off at 8:15 pm ET on Amazon Prime. Also, be sure to check out our full Titans vs Steelers predictions.
Steelers -2.5 (-118)
George Pickens to score a touchdown (+195)
Will Levis Over 204.5 passing yards (-114)
Same Game Parlay odds: +699
Part of the value in a Same Game Parlay, of course, is that all of its components can be correlated if you so choose. That is some of the plan here, as George Pickens scoring a touchdown would obviously work well with a Pittsburgh win and cover. At the same time, plays that aren’t correlated drive up the overall payout of the parlay. That is the case with backing Well Levis to rack up his fair share of passing yards. But even if he does, there is no reason why the Steelers can’t take care of business. Let’s break down each of the 3 legs.
Pittsburgh Steelers -2.5 over Tennessee Titans (-118)
Levis starred in his first career start last Sunday, throwing for 238 yards and 4 touchdowns during a 28-23 win over the Atlanta Falcons. If you dig deeper into his performance, though, he performed far above expectation with just a 29 percent pass success rate. The Falcons also had a chance to engineer a come-from-behind victory before an untimely fourth-down drop ended their final drive. In hindsight, last weekend was really the perfect setting for Tennessee success: a shaky Falcons offense and the Titans playing at home in what might as well have been a must-win situation. Those scenarios don’t exist this week – although it is true that the Steelers’ offense is also nothing special. Levis will likely be under a lot more pressure than he was against Atlanta and that should see the home team prevail by at least a field goal.
George Pickens to score a touchdown (+195)
The Titans’ defense is solid all around, but they are especially stingy against the run. Tennessee is holding opponents to 3.8 yards per rush and has surrendered just 4 TDs on the ground this season. Pittsburgh needs Pickens to do some damage and I think he will oblige. The former University of Georgia star has either scored a touchdown or gained 100 receiving yards in 3 consecutive contests. He also found the endzone while recording 127 yards in a Week 2 victory over the Cleveland Browns. Pickens has 3 scores for the year; I expect him to make it 4.
After recent +550 and +200 wins, don’t miss our expert’s best Titans vs Steelers TD scorer picks
Will Levis Over 204.5 passing yards (-114)
This really doesn’t conflict with the Steelers -2.5 play, because the Titans will be content to air it out if they find themselves trailing on the scoreboard. Of course, they were happy to employ that strategy even when they weren’t playing from ahead throughout their Week 8 victory over the Falcons. Levis exceeded the 200-yard mark with room to spare and he tossed 3 of his 4 touchdown strikes to DeAndre Hopkins, who finished with 128 yards. That rapport with Hopkins alone should allow Levis to once again rack up plenty of yards.
Prop Holliday has his best Titans vs Steelers player prop bets for TNF tonight
