Stephen Nover's Preseason Total of the Year - 14-3-1 Last 18 NFL Totals!
(NFL) Pittsburgh vs. Carolina, 08/27/2021 7:30 PM, Score: 9 - 34
Total: 36.00 | -110.00 Under
Result: Loss
Here's who is not playing: Ben Roethlisberger, Mason Rudolph, Najee Harris and Christian McCaffrey.
 
Here's who is going to be playing: Dwayne Haskins, Josh Dobbs, Will Grier and P.J. Walker. 

That largely explains why I like the Under. 

Haskins and Dobbs are battling for the No. 3 QB spot on the Steelers. Neither is any good. Mike Tomlin showed how much he cares about this game by holding out his two top QB's plus his best running back, Harris. The rest of the Steelers' running backs are garbage and Pittsburgh's offensive line is a huge work-in-progress. The Panthers are expected to play a number of defensive starters. 

Carolina coach Matt Ruhle smartly is going to hold out McCaffrey, who is coming off an injury-plagued 2020 and figures to see nearly all of the Panthers' backfield touches when the regular season begins. 

Sam Darnold may play a quarter. But I'm not worried about that. Darnold's thrown only two passes in preseason with one of the passes being a throw-away. He's rusty and not in sync with his new team yet. The Steelers have one of the better defenses in the league. Grier and Walker are below average backup QB's.