Steelers vs. Patriots picks, odds, prediction: Betting preview, start time and more for NFL Week 2 matchup

The New England Patriots will try to bounce back from a tough opener when they host the Pittsburgh Steelers in an NFL Week 2 contest at Gillette Stadium on Sunday, Sept. 20. The Patriots kicked the season off with a Super Bowl rematch against the Seahawks last Wednesday, and the AFC champions suffered a 13-10 loss on the road. Now they'll face a Pittsburgh team that opened with a 20-13 victory against the Falcons in Week 1 last Sunday. Kickoff in Foxborough, Mass. is set for 1 p.m ET. Bet on Steelers-Patriots and NFL Week 2 with the latest FanDuel promo code here and get $350 in bonus bets:

New England is a 4.5-point favorite in the latest FanDuel Sportsbook odds, while the Over/Under for total points scored is 42.5. The Patriots went 14-3 in the regular season last year and lost 29-13 in the Super Bowl, while the Steelers won the AFC North at 10-7 but lost to the Texans 30-6 in the Wild Card Round.  

Fans who want to try NFL betting on games like Steelers vs. Patriots at the best betting apps need to see our picks for this matchup. And be sure to check out what SportsLine experts and the SportsLine Projection Model have to say. Get $200 in bonus bets when you spend $5+ at DraftKings:

Steelers vs. Patriots betting odds (via FanDuel)

Steelers vs. Patriots betting preview

New England is surely smarting from another setback to Seattle, but Mike Vrabel and Co. know they have the team to get back to the Super Bowl. The Patriots went 14-3 last season and went into the playoffs as the No. 2 seed behind Denver. The Pats caught a break when Broncos QB Bo Nix was injured before the AFC Championship Game and gutted out a 10-7 victory in brutal winter conditions. New England quarterback Drake Maye finished second in MVP voting in his second season in the NFL, as he threw for 4,394 yards (fourth in NFL) and 31 touchdowns (third). The offensive line has been an issue -- Maye was sacked six times in the Super Bowl -- and top offseason addition A..J Brown will be out for about six weeks with a high ankle sprain. 

Still, the Pats matched Seattle almost yard for yard in Week 1, but Maye was harassed into three interceptions and was sacked three times in the fourth quarter. Maye did rush for 47 yards, with Rhamondre Stevenson rushing for a team-high 51 and adding 44 receiving yards. Running back TreVeyon Henderson, who posted 1,132 total yards in 2025, returned to practice Monday and is questionable to suit up Sunday. DeMario Douglas (five receptions), Hunter Henry (three for 26 yards) and Mack Hollins (four for 51) all stepped up after Brown went down. The former Eagle had three catches for 26 yards before being injured in the third quarter.

The Patriots were much better than the Steelers defensively in 2025, as New England allowed just 18.8 points per game, fourth-fewest in the NFL. Pittsburgh yielded 22.8 (17th) and was 26th in total yards allowed per contest (356.9) while the Pats were eighth (295.2). The Patriots were 6-2-1 against the spread at home last season and 13-7-1 ATS overall, while the Steelers were 3-5 ATS on the road and 9-9 ATS overall. The Steelers leaned to the Over on the road last season, going 5-3 O/U away from home and 9-7-1 O/U in all games. The Patriots were 12-9 to the Over last season and 7-4 to the Over at home.

The Aaron Rodgers and Mike McCarthy reunion in Pittsburgh got off to a decent start in Week 1, with T.J. Watt picking up a sluggish offense with a late pick-6 for the winning margin against Atlanta. Watt also had two of the team's four sacks, with Alex Highsmith getting the other two, and Pittsburgh batted down six passes. Falcons running back Bijan Robinson was almost the entire offense for Atlanta, and he gashed the Steelers' defense, putting up 173 of the team's 238 total yards. Fortunately for the visitors, the Patriots don't have a player with that type of explosiveness. The Steelers beat the Patriots in Foxborough last season, with the defense forcing five turnovers as they won 21-17 despite being outgained 369-203.  

Rodgers' 22nd and final season began with a pretty pedestrian showing by his standards, as he threw for 221 yards and a touchdown. Michael Pittman had a team-high 58 receiving yards in his Steelers debut, and tight end Pat Freiermuth had 46 yards and the only offensive touchdown. There is some concern after DK Metcalf had a couple of drops -- he had four catches for 40 yards -- and the Steelers' running game managed just 58 yards, with Jaylen Warren leading the way with 46. The running back also had 27 yards on five receptions. Metcalf had 859 receiving yards and six TDs last season, while Pittman had 784 and seven TDs with the Colts, so Rodgers has some weapons. The 42-year-old threw for 3,322 yards last season, with 24 touchdowns and seven interceptions. He had just 139 passing yards, with two TDs and an interception, in last year's meeting. 

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Steelers vs. Patriots picks, prediction

Steelers +4.5

The Patriots hung tough with the Seahawks, but the offensive line remains a big question mark. With the Steelers coming to town, that could be a problem. Watt looks to be a man on a mission after questions about his age started cropping up last season. Pittsburgh was fifth in the league last season with 48 sacks. Five of those came against New England, and they recovered four fumbles, two by Stevenson and one each by Maye and Antonio Gibson. The Patriots are the better team overall, and Maye looks like he is willing to fight through anything, but it could be a rough day for the young quarterback. New England should win, and the SportsLine Projection Model, which simulates every game 10,000 times, has it doing so in 57% of simulations. The model is leaning toward the Steelers for money line betting, though, as they win 43% of the time at almost 2-1 odds. For point spread betting, Pittsburgh is covering the spread in 56% of the model's simulations, and that's the play we're backing here.       

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