The Patriots-Steelers over/under points total is laughably low

The Patriots-Steelers over/under points total is laughably low originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

Last week's "Thursday Night Football" game was awesome. There were touchdowns galore as the Dallas Cowboys defeated the Seattle Seahawks 41-35 in a shootout.

This week's Thursday night matchup, when the Pittsburgh Steelers host the New England Patriots, is expected to be the total opposite.

Oddsmakers have set the over/under for total points at just 30.

It's the lowest over/under for a regular season NFL game since the Patriots played the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 15 in 1993. In fact, four of the six games with the lowest totals in league history came in 1993, per Stat Muse, and the over hit in three of them. The one game that went under was Patriots-Bengals. New England won 7-2 in one of the ugliest games of the 1990s.

Why such a low total for Patriots-Steelers?

The Patriots, who are scoring a league-low 12.3 points per game, were shut out 6-0 by the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 13, and their offense has scored only one touchdown in the last three games. New England's quarterback play has been disastrous, and starting running back Rhamondre Stevenson is reportedly expected to miss a few weeks with an ankle injury.

The Steelers offense isn't much better than the Patriots'. Pittsburgh is scoring the fifth-fewest points per game (16.0), and its offense could only muster 10 points in a 24-10 loss to a bad Arizona Cardinals team in Week 13. Steelers starting quarterback Kenny Pickett is injured and won't play against the Patriots. Backup QB Mitch Trubisky will get the start.

The ideal outcome for the Patriots on Thursday would be to lose because that result helps them maintain their position in the 2024 NFL Draft order. New England currently owns the No. 2 overall pick and still has a path to the top selection.