Now that the New England Patriots are going to have Tom Brady for the full season, their NFL betting odds are changing in a number of areas. They have gone from three-point favorites against the Steelers to open the season to 6 ½-point favorites. Given the fact that the Patriots will have a huge adrenaline rush in front of their home crowd, celebrating their Super Bowl title and having their starting quarterback back – and given the fact that the Steelers will be without the suspended Le’Veon Bell – I would take the Patriots to win even with that line.
The Patriots and Tom Brady just declared war on ESPN http://t.co/PNIj7UQu4q pic.twitter.com/kavGbkhQT3
— For The Win (@ForTheWin) September 8, 2015
It wouldn’t be surprising to me to see the Patriots win that game by 15 or 20. Yes, the Steelers are a proud team, but they aren’t going to be ready for the juggernaut that will spill out of the other tunnel. There might be other weeks where the Steelers can win or stay within a touchdown, but that won’t be this week.

So if you think about it, the Patriots looked like a 1-3 or 2-2 team with Garoppolo running the show. Now they will probably be a 2-2 or 3-1 team after those first four games. Since that’s only a shift of about a game, that small shift in the over’under for wins makes more sense.


