National Football League

NFL odds: Mike Tomlin’s absurd record as an underdog and more Week 16 trends

Updated Dec. 22, 2021 5:01 p.m. ET

Family and football — it's the perfect duo that most of us celebrate every year during the holidays, made even better when you throw a little gambling in the mix.

With NFL Week 16 here, let's take a look at some matchups from a gambling perspective. Here are the three best coach-related betting trends you need to know for this weekend's games.

While we have some juicy betting nuggets for this week, the one that leads the way involves Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin.

The Steelers got off to a rough start this season with a 1-4 record, and fans started wondering if Ben Roethlisberger — who has thrown for 3,214 yards and 19 touchdowns this year — was beginning the sunset of his NFL days. With Tomlin as its captain, the team has steadied the ship at 7-6-1. More importantly, Pittsburgh has a real shot at making the playoffs.

And the matchup Sunday against the 10-4 Kansas City Chiefs will give them another chance to get off the bubble and into better playoff positioning.

From a betting perspective, Pittsburgh enters this game as 8-point underdogs. If there is one trend that has been profitable for gamblers over the years, it's Tomlin and his Steelers in the underdog role. In his 14th season as Pittsburgh's coach, Tomlin is an absurd 41-23-2 against the spread (ATS) as an underdog. Tomlin also is 29-19-1 ATS and 23-26 straight up (SU) as a road underdog in his career.

This means if you just bet on every game Tomlin was an underdog throughout his career, you'd be profitable. So if you envision Tomlin & Co. barking again as underdogs on Sunday, grab the 8 points now at FOX Bet.

Pittsburgh Steelers @ Kansas City Chiefs (4:25 p.m. ET Sunday, CBS)

Another game to watch heading into Week 16 is the AFC North clash between the Baltimore Ravens and the Cincinnati Bengals. The Ravens enter this game against the division rival Bengals as a 2.5-point underdog.

Baltimore is coming off a disappointing 31-30 loss to the Super Bowl favorites Green Bay Packers. John Harbaugh and the Ravens are on the outside looking in when it comes to the postseason, so their game against the Bengals falls into the must-win category.

Like the aforementioned Tomlin, Harbaugh is another great coach as an underdog when it comes to wagering. The Baltimore coach is 17-5 ATS as an underdog when facing AFC North opponents over his career.

The Ravens have dropped a couple of close games recently. Could Harbaugh as a dog, Lamar Jackson's potential return and desperation be the perfect recipe for an upset this weekend?

Baltimore Ravens @ Cincinnati Bengals (1 p.m. ET Sunday, CBS)

One more matchup to watch takes place in the Thursday Night Football game featuring the San Francisco 49ers and Tennessee Titans. At 8-6 and third in the NFC West, coach Kyle Shanahan's 49ers are still in the playoff hunt.

Bookmakers made the 49ers 3-point favorites in this contest, and if past is precedent, the odds are in San Francisco's favor. Shanahan is 7-6 ATS but a whopping 10-3 SU in his career as a road favorite of 3 or more points.

The Niners are another team that needs a win to stay in the playoff mix so it will be fun to see if Shanahan can keep up his winning ways on the road.

San Francisco 49ers @ Tennessee Titans (8:20 p.m. ET Thursday, NFLN)

With Tomlin leading the way in this week's betting trends, which of these matchups are you putting your money on? Head over to FOX Bet to get in on the action now!

*All records above are from regular season games

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