Chiefs vs. Steelers 2016 picks: Pittsburgh the heavy favorite on Sunday night

The Pittsburgh Steelers may have had the pants beat off them last week, but they’re still big favorites among online experts against the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday Night Football. A big reason for that is the return of Le’Veon Bell.

Bell is making his first regular season appearance of 2016 after serving a three-game suspension for violating the NFL’s substance abuse policy. He’s also making his way back from a knee injury that ended his 2015 season early, although that’s not expected to keep him limited. Bell’s return will be a big boost to a Steelers offense that hasn’t been at its best. Eli Rogers is out with a toe injury, making the wide receiver group pretty thin behind Antonio Brown, and PIttsburgh had no answers in last week’s shellacking by the Philadelphia Eagles, dropping them to 2-1.

The Chiefs are also 2-1 after embarrassing Ryan Fitzpatrick in Week 3, picking him off six times en route to the 24-3 win. They’re also expected to get back Jamaal Charles, who is making a methodical recovery from a torn ACL. Charles missed the first three games and is questionable for Sunday night’s game, although he’s expected to play in some fashion. It could be the Spencer Ware show in the backfield again if Charles isn’t ready to play full games.

Here at SB Nation, it’s a similar story.

Eight writers and the OddsShark computer are picking Pittsburgh, while Tyler Tynes is the only one going with Kansas City. The Steelers will try to prove the majority right when they host the Chiefs on Sunday Night Football. Kickoff is set for 8:30 p.m. ET and can be seen on NBC or online at NBC Sports Live.