With the Washington Commanders moving to 7-2 with a win over the New York Giants today, they opened as consensus 2-point favorites over the Pittsburgh Steelers for their Week 10 matchup at Northwest Stadium, per betting network VSiN.
The lines are different depending on the sportsbook, as Caesars and FanDuel have the Commanders at -1.5, while DraftKings has Washington -2.5, leading to the consensus line of -2 in Washington’s favor, with the Steelers as underdogs.
The Commanders have been one of the biggest surprises in the NFL this season, as rookie QB Jayden Daniels has been playing like one of the better quarterbacks in the league. The Commanders won on a walk-off hail mary in Week 8 against the Chicago Bears and kept things rolling with a 27-22 win over the Giants this week.
Up to this point, the only common opponent the Steelers and Commanders have is the Giants, who Washington beat 21-18 in Week 2 before their win today. Pittsburgh beat the Giants 26-18 in Week 8 on Monday Night Football.
The Steelers will come into the Week 10 matchup fresh as they just had a Week 9 bye, and Mike Tomlin is 25-6 against rookie quarterbacks in his career. That bodes well for the Steelers, but it’s not a surprise that they’re slight underdogs against a Commanders team that’s playing like one of the best in football on the road.
Pittsburgh has looked good with Russell Wilson under center, as the offense has been rolling through the air and on the ground, as RB Najee Harris has ran for over 100 yards in three straight games. Defensively, the Steelers have been one of the best teams in the league, but they struggled against the run in their win over the Giants, and they’ll have to clean up their run defense against the Commanders, with Daniels a rushing threat and Austin Ekeler and Brian Robinson Jr. in the backfield.
Robinson was a surprise inactive for Washington today after he tested his hamstring pregame, so his status will be worth watching heading into Week 10. The expectation was that he would play heading into the games today, so he should be good to go for next week, but there’s a chance he’ll miss the game.
The Steelers are also going to have to find a way to stop WR Terry McLaurin, who has 42 receptions for 598 yards and six touchdowns this year. McLaurin only had two receptions for 19 yards today, but both catches were touchdowns and he’s been Daniels’ favorite target this season. It should be a fun matchup between two teams with just two losses, and it would be a marquee win for the Steelers, especially on the road.
