It’s week 1 of the NFL season and this matchup should be one of the better matchups of the week as the San Francisco 49ers travel to take on the Pittsburgh Steelers. The San Francisco 49ers are one of the favorites to win the NFC, but will be without Nick Bosa as he continues to hold out for an extension while the Steelers will be looking to get into the playoffs as a Wild Card team in what should be an improved offense in Kenny Pickett’s 2^nd season as the starting quarterback. What should we expect from these two teams this season? Let’s jump in and take a look at some of the projections that Vegas has set for both teams.

The San Francisco 49ers finished the 2023 NFL Preseason with a record of 1-2 with losses on the road against the Las Vegas Raiders by a score of 7-37 and at home against the Los Angeles Chargers by a score of 12-23 while defeating the Denver Broncos at home by a score of 21-20. San Francisco finished last season with a record of 13-4 which led to a 1^st place finish in the NFC West and the 49ers making the playoffs for the 2^nd consecutive season. 

The 49ers defeated the Seattle Seahawks in the Wild Card round by a score of 41-23 and the Dallas Cowboys in the Divisional Round by a score of 19-12 before losing in the NFC Championship game against the Philadelphia Eagles by a score of 7-31. This season, the San Francisco 49ers enter the year with an over/under win total of 11.5 wins and based on Vegas odds are projected to be the best team in the NFC West and have the 4^th best odds of winning the Super Bowl as they are +811 to accomplish that feat this season.

Pittsburgh finished the 2023 NFL Preseason with a record of 3-0 with wins on the road against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers by a score of 27-17 and the Atlanta Falcons by a score of 24-0 while winning at home against the Buffalo Bills by a score of 27-15. The Pittsburgh Steelers finished the 2022 NFL season with a record of 9-8 which led to a 3^rd place finish in the AFC North and the Steelers missing the playoffs for the first time since the 2019 NFL season. 

This year, the Pittsburgh Steelers enter the season with an over/under win total of 8.5 wins and based on Vegas odds are projected to be the 3^rd best team in the AFC North behind the Cincinnati Bengals and the Baltimore Ravens.

BookMaker has the San Francisco 49ers listed as 2.5-point favorites on the road against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday in week 1 of the NFL season. San Francisco has won four of the last seven and two of the last three games while Pittsburgh is 4-3 ATS in the last ten and 2-1 ATS in the last three games of the series. San Francisco finished last season with a record of 13-7 ATS overall, 3-5 ATS on the road, and 12-5 ATS as a favorite while the Pittsburgh Steelers finished last season with a record of 10-6-1 ATS overall, 4-3-1 ATS at home, and 6-4-1 ATS as an underdog.

San Francisco is the more talented team and is projected to finish with the better record as the 49ers enter the season with an over/under win total of 11.5 games while the Steelers enter the season with an over/under win total of 8.5 games. The 49ers have been the better team in the series, winning four of the last seven and two of the last three games. As a result, I am taking the money line for the San Francisco 49ers at -133 on BookMaker for this matchup in week 1 of the NFL season.

Spooky Express Pick: San Francisco 49ers Money Line (-133)