Public bettors split on Titans-Steelers Thursday Night Football game

The Week 9 edition of Thursday Night Football features two teams in the thick of the AFC playoff picture.

The 4-3 Pittsburgh Steelers have a struggling offense and an injured quarterback in Kenny Pickett, who left Sunday’s 20-10 loss against the Jacksonville Jaguars in the second quarter and didn’t return. Pickett has insisted he will play on Thursday night, telling reporters, “I have to do what I have to do to play.

The 3-4 Tennessee Titans are coming off an impressive 28-23 win at home over the Atlanta Falcons, which featured rookie Will Levis (238 passing yards, 4 TDs) getting his first win as a starter.

The Steelers opened as 3.5-point home favorites at sportsbooks on Sunday, but the respected money came in on Tennessee. The line is down to Steelers -3 at several books, and some are even at Tennessee -2.5. The already-low total has dipped a tiny bit from 37.5 to 36.5.

“We saw early Titans money with respected bettors grabbing the 3.5,” Thomas Gable, sportsbook director at the Borgata in New Jersey, said via text. “We’ll see if Levis looks as good as last week now that there is some NFL tape on him. This number will probably continue to toggle between 2.5 and 3.”

At DraftKings Sportsbook, the Titans +3 side had only 52 percent of the bets as of Wednesday afternoon, but 70 percent of the total dollars wagered.

“The money is coming is on the Titans and the over,” Zachary Lucas, retail sportsbook director at Twin Spires said via text. “We’re seen 62 percent of the tickets and 66 percent of the money on the Titans spread.”

Tennessee and Pittsburgh are both 4-3 against the spread this season.