The New England Patriots will try to end their run of close losses when they face the Pittsburgh Steelers on Thursday Night Football at 8:15 p.m. ET. New England has lost four straight games by six points or fewer, including a 6-0 loss to the Chargers in Week 13. The Patriots became the first team since the 1938 Chicago Cardinals to lose three straight games while allowing 10 points or fewer, as second-year quarterback Bailey Zappe failed to provide a spark in NFL DFS contests. He is expected to get the nod again in this game, so how should that play a role in your NFL DFS strategy for Thursday Night Football?
Pittsburgh has had its fair share of offensive struggles this season as well, including a loss to Arizona as a six-point favorite last week. Which offense can you rely on in your Thursday Night Football NFL DFS lineups for Steelers vs. Patriots? Before locking in your NFL DFS picks for Patriots vs. Steelers on sites like DraftKings and FanDuel, be sure to see what Mike McClure has to say.
McClure is a legendary professional DFS player with more than $2 million in career winnings. He uses a powerful prediction model that simulates every snap of NFL action, taking factors such as matchups, statistical trends, and injuries into account. This allows him to find the best DFS values that he shares only with members at SportsLine. His methodology has led to enormous cashes on FanDuel and DraftKings.
He took down two high-stakes tournaments on FanDuel in 2020 and recorded a pair of top-10 finishes in tournaments with over 130,000 entrants on DraftKings. His lineups also finished inside the top 1% in more than a dozen other tournaments. Last year, he won the DraftKings Millionaire Maker twice and the FanDuel Million once.
Now, McClure has turned his attention to Steelers vs. Patriots on Thursday Night Football and locked in his top daily Fantasy football picks. You can only see them by heading to SportsLine.
Top NFL DFS picks for Steelers vs. Patriots
We can tell you the Steelers defense is one of McClure's top NFL DFS picks for Thursday Night Football. The Patriots have allowed nearly as many sacks (12) as points the offense has scored (13) over their last three games. New England has been unable to move the ball with any consistency and has six turnovers over that span.
The Patriots are the fifth-worst in yards per game (290.4), while their quarterbacks are registering the third-worst QBR (72.8) this season. They are the worst-scoring offense in the NFL, averaging 12.3 points per game. The Steelers held the Browns and Bengals to a combined 23 points before allowing 24 points to the Cardinals last week. With Patriots running back Rhamondre Stevenson (ankle) expected to miss TNF, the Patriots don't have many big-time playmakers to put fear into defensive coordinators. McClure likes this opportunity to utilize a defense/special teams in NFL DFS lineups.
Part of McClure's optimal NFL DFS strategy also includes rostering Steelers running back Jaylen Warren. While the Steelers ultimately left disappointed last week, Warren continued to impress fans by averaging 6.6 yards per carry in the loss to Arizona. He is just 60 yards behind Najee Harris for the team-lead in rushing yards and is averaging nearly two more yards per carry than his counterpart.
Warren is also more involved in the passing game than Harris, catching 38 passes for 243 yards on 48 targets. Harris is expected to play on Thursday Night Football, but he was a non-participant on Tuesday and Wednesday's practice reports due to a knee issue. Warren could wind up being the bell-cow back in this matchup against a New England defense that is allowing more than 21 points per game. See the rest of McClure's NFL DFS player pool right here.
How to set NFL DFS lineups for Patriots vs. Steelers
McClure is also targeting an undervalued player who is set to explode for huge numbers on Thursday Night Football. This pick could be the difference between winning your tournaments and cash games or going home with nothing. You can only see who it is here.
So who is Mike McClure putting in his optimal NFL DFS lineups for Thursday Night Football? Visit SportsLine now to see optimal NFL DFS picks, rankings, advice, and stacks, all from a daily Fantasy expert with more than $2 million in winnings, and find out.
