Pittsburgh Steelers vs New England Patriots Prediction, Preview and Odds - 09/20/2026

Game Time: 1:00 pm ET, Sunday, September 20, 2026

Venue:  Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, MA

Where to Watch:  CBS

DraftKings:  Point Spread:  Steelers +5.5, Patriots -5.5; Over/Under:  41.5 points

Bet365:  Point Spread:  Steelers +5.5, Patriots -5.5; Over/Under:  41.5 points

BetMGM:  Point Spread:  Steelers +5, Patriots -5; Over/Under:  41.5 points

Pittsburgh Steelers:  1-0 (1st place, AFC North)

New England Patriots:  0-1 (3rd place, AFC East)

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Pittsburgh Steelers:  won their last game at home against the Atlanta Falcons 20-13.

New England Patriots:  lost their last game on the road against the Seattle Seahawks 13-10.

The Steelers are entering this game with a 1-0 record overall and they have a 0-0 record in their divisional games too. They are 1-0 in their home games, 0-0 in their road games, and they are also 0-0 in their neutral site games this season, but they will be on the road for this game. They won their last game against the Atlanta Falcons 20-13. Aaron Rodgers was the starting QB and he completed 24/40 passes for 221 passing yards, 1 touchdown, and 0 interceptions. Jaylen Warren led the team in rushing yards with 46. Michael Pittman led the receivers with 58 receiving yards on 3 receptions. Payton Wilson led the defense in that game with 13 solo tackles while T. J. Watt and Alex Highsmith each led the defense in sacks with 2. Jaquan Brisker and T. J. Watt each came away with 1 interception for them in that one.

 

 

 

The Patriots are entering this game with a 0-1 record overall and they have a 0-0 record in their divisional games too. They are 0-0 in their home games, 0-1 in their road games, and they are also 0-0 in their neutral site games this season, but they will be at home for this game. They lost their last game against the Seattle Seahawks 13-10. Drake Maye was the starting QB and he completed 23/33 passes for 178 passing yards, 1 touchdown, and 3 interceptions. Rhamondre Stevenson led the team in rushing yards with 51. Mack Hollins led the receivers with 51 receiving yards on 4 receptions. Robert Spillane led the defense in that game with 8 solo tackles while Gabe Jacas and Dre'Mont Jones each led the defense in sacks with 1. No one on the defense came away with an interception for them in that one.

The current betting odds have the Patriots listed as a 5.5 point favorite in this game according to Draftkings Sportsbook. The Patriots haven't looked great in their games this season with their 0-1 record overall so far. They haven't played any home games yet and will be playing their home opener here. Meanwhile, the Steelers have looked good in their games this season with their 1-0 record overall so far. They haven't played any road games though and will be playing their 1st road game of the season here. The McCarthy era got off to a nice start in Pittsburgh as they won their season opener 20-13, but they were also at home for that game and played against a dysfunctional Falcons team with no real QB. The defense looked great and really made the difference for the Steelers with a pick-6, but the offense still had a lot of trouble and could have lost that game without the pivotal interception. The Patriots are coming off a 13-10 loss on the road to the Seahawks who are the defending Super Bowl champions and they weren't able to take advantage of Sam Darnold leaving the game early. They ended up blowing a 10-0 lead which they held most of the game, but the defense still looked great as it was the offense which was the real issue. Drake Maye looked terrible and the offense couldn't get anything going, but they also played against one of the best defenses in the NFL who demolished them in the Super Bowl just months before. Now they are coming back home with a chance to bounce back and they also played that season opener on Wednesday, so they have had extra days to get ready for this one. Look for the patriots to bounce back at home against a Steelers offense that had a lot of trouble in their week 1 win. The best way to place a bet here is on the Patriots to cover the spread in this game. 

Steelers Patriots Prediction:  Our NFL Pick for Sunday, September 20, 2026 (1:00 pm ET start time) is Patriots 23 Steelers 13.

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Pittsburgh Steelers: 3-7 ATS off a home win. 4-7 ATS on the road after 1 or more consecutive wins. 9-5 OVER in all games where the total is between 35.5 and 42 points. 7-3 OVER off a home win. 6-3 OVER after allowing 14 points or less last game. 

New England Patriots: 7-3 ATS as a favorite of 3.5 to 9.5 points. 10-5 ATS in all games where the total is between 35.5 and 42 points. 23-16 OVER in all games. 14-5 OVER in home games. 8-1 OVER in a home game where the total is between 35.5 and 42 points.

Pittsburgh Steelers:  M. Pittman Jr. (WR) Injured - Foot. J. Porter Jr. (CB) Injured - NIR/Conditioning. D. Washington (TE) Injured - NIR-Personal. T. Fautanu (OT) Injured - Ankle.

New England Patriots:  C. Davis III (CB) Injured - Neck. R. Spillane (LB) Injured - Knee. B. Brown (C) Injured - Knee. D. Jones (DL) Injured - Foot. T. Henderson (RB) Injured - Ankle. D. Crownover (OT) Injured - Knee.

“It's time to move on and get team victories from here on. I'm not one for attention. So the homecoming has been great. Just glad to get this one under our belt.” - Mike McCarthy after his team’s win against the Falcons in their last game. 

“I was trying to get rid of it, and I realized Mack was back there in the back and I didn’t put enough on it to get it out. It was unacceptable.” - Drake Maye after their loss against the Seahawks in their last game. 

WR Metcalf, DK

WR Pittman Jr., Michael

WR Wilson, Roman

TE Freiermuth, Pat

QB Rodgers, Aaron

RB Warren, Jaylen

FB Nowakowski, Riley

WR Doubs, Romeo

WR Hollins, Mack

WR Douglas, DeMario

TE Henry, Hunter

QB Maye, Drake

RB Stevenson, Rhamondre

FB Gilliam, Reggie

Passing: Aaron Rodgers (221)

Rushing: Jaylen Warren (46)

Receiving: Michael Pittman Jr. (58)

Touchdowns: Pat Freiermuth (1)

Passing: Drake Maye (178)

Rushing: Rhamondre Stevenson (51)

Receiving: Mack Hollins (51)

Touchdowns: Eli Raridon (1)

Coaches:

Pittsburgh Steelers: Mike McCarthy (1st season)

New England Patriots: Mike Vrabel (2nd season)