Steelers vs. Eagles odds: Insider picks, predictions from top-rated NFL expert for Preseason Week 1

It's a battle of Pennsylvania in the first week of the NFL preseason as the Pittsburgh Steelers take on the defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles. Kickoff is at 7 p.m. Thursday from Lincoln Financial Field. The Eagles are three-point home favorites and the over-under, or total number of points Vegas expects to be scored, is 35. Don't expect to see much, if any, of Eagles quarterbacks Carson Wentz and Nick Foles. Wentz is recovering from an ACL injury suffered last December and Foles is dealing with upper-body muscle spasms.

Before you lock in your Steelers vs. Eagles picks, you have to see what SportsLine stat geek R.J. White has to say. White knows what it takes to win on football's biggest stage. He finished in the top 1 percent of the Las Vegas SuperContest last season after also cashing huge in 2015. That's right -- he has crushed the world's most prestigious handicapping tournament twice in the past three years.

If you had placed $100 on each of White's NFL point-spread picks last season, you would have won nearly $2,000. Smart bettors tail him.

We can tell you White is leaning Under 35 points for Steelers-Eagles, telling SportsLine, "There hasn't been much scoring in either of the Eagles' preseason openers under Doug Pederson, and the Steelers didn't see any of their four preseason games last year get to 35 points." White's stronger play is on the spread, which is available at SportsLine.

White knows with neither Foles nor Wentz expected to take a snap, look for Nate Sudfeld and Joe Callahan to handle signal-calling duties for the Eagles.

Pederson did say he intends to have all his starters play -- some just a few series, while others could see possibly more than a half. Starting running back Jay Ajayi isn't likely to take many handoffs in the backfield regardless. Instead, look for second-year rusher Donnel Pumphrey and Wendell Smallwood to take the brunt of carries.

Philadelphia's top receiver, Alshon Jeffery, won't see much playing time, but No. 2 receiver Mike Wallace could play up to a half. The Eagles also want to take long looks at former Steelers wideout Markus Wheaton, second-year pro Rashard Davis and second-round tight end Dallas Goedert.

Tomlin says Ben Roethlisberger will not play, but the other three quarterbacks on the roster will: Landry Jones, Joshua Dobbs and third-round Oklahoma State rookie Mason Rudolph. Jones is expected to start.

Slightly banged-up star receiver Antonio Brown has been ruled out, as has tight end Vance McDonald. Linebackers T.J. Watt and Bud Dupree also won't play. With Eli Rogers out, Pittsburgh will likely turn to Justin Hunter and former Kansas City Chiefs wideout Tevin Jones.

White has evaluated each roster from top to bottom and has unearthed a critical stat that determines which side you should be all over. He's sharing what it is, and who to back, only at SportsLine.

So which side of the spread should you back for Pittsburgh vs. Philadelphia and which critical state determines the showdown? Visit SportsLine here to see which side you need to be all over, from the expert who keeps crushing the Las Vegas SuperContest, and find out.