At some point, Bill Belichick, Tom Brady, and the New England Patriots need to take a step back, to slip a bit from the top of the NFL mountain. Right?

Maybe, but it doesn’t look like the defending champions have any intention of regressing this year. If anything, the Patriots might be even better this season despite losing tight end Rob Gronkowski to retirement. So yes, the Patriots are favourites to win the Lombardi Trophy again, and open the season on Sunday Night Football as 6-point favourites against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

NFL Sunday Night Football Point Spread and Betting

The Pats have covered the number five of the last seven times they’ve hosted the Steelers and are seeing solid support to cover the six points here again. New England heads into Week 1 as the +700 Super Bowl favourite, with a league-high regular season win total of 11.5. Oddsmakers’ expectations for Pittsburgh aren’t quite as lofty, which is to be expected when you lose a pair of perennial Pro-Bowlers on offence. The Steelers are +1800 to win the title and have a win total of 9.5.

Pittsburgh Steelers

The Steelers depth chart will be tested early this season now that Antonio Brown and LeVeon Bell have skipped town, leaving Ben Roethlisberger to lead and groom a new cast of playmakers. James Conner is expected to be the bellcow in the backfield, while Juju Smith-Schuster is the new No. 1 wideout. The Steelers have a lot to prove this year – especially with many pundits handing the AFC North division title to the Cleveland Browns. Pittsburgh should still be a contender, but this is a very tough way to open the season.

New England Patriots

Even without Gronk, the Patriots have more offensive weapons than you can shake a point spread at. Julian Edelman (hand) is expected to be fine to start this week and Josh Gordon showed flashes of big-play potential in the pre-season. Sony Michel and James White should get plenty of work in the backfield on Sunday.

And then there’s Tom Brady. At 42 years old he’s fourth on the NFL MVP odds board at +1100 and even though this offence might lean more on the running game this year, the veteran quarterback knows how to get more from his supporting cast than anyone in the game. The worst time to face the Patriots is when they have lots of time to prepare, which means the Steelers have their work cut out for them on Sunday.

Who Will Win Steelers vs. Patriots?