Can the Panthers take down the surging Steelers on Thursday?

Week 10 of the NFL season is here, and it will kick off with a Thursday Night Football tilt between the Carolina Panthers (6-2) and Pittsburgh Steelers (5-2-1). The matchup, from Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, will begin at 8:20 p.m. ET on NFL Network and FOX (live streaming via FuboTV, NBC Sports, NFL).

Carolina has stumbled here and there, with losses to teams they certainly feel like they should beat — the Falcons and Washington — but they’ve won their last three games, and are just a game back of the very tough Saints in the NFC South. Carolina has been average on offense this season, but they boast the league’s eighth-ranked defense.

That’s one spot higher than the Steelers, who rank ninth, but also have the league’s seventh-ranked offense. Pittsburgh is on a four-game winning streak after starting the season off 1-2-1. They’re coming off three consecutive wins over divisional rivals on top of that.

Below is all you need to know to watch the action on Thursday.

Time, TV, and streaming info

• Time: 8:20 p.m. ET
• Location: Heinz Field, Pittsburgh, Pa.
• TV: NFL Network, FOX
• Streaming: Amazon Prime, FuboTV, NBC Sports, NFL
• Odds: Pittsburgh opened as 5.5-point favorites, but the line has narrowed throughout the week.

Panthers vs. Steelers news

• Of course, the top headline for the Steelers if still Le’Veon Bell’s holdout. We now know that Bell can become a free agent at the end of the season even if he doesn’t report, but he still does have to report by Nov. 13 or he cannot play at all this season.
• More directly related to this game, the Steelers ruled out Marcus Gilbert and Dan McCullers on their final injury report, and they were the only names listed.
• When the Steelers and Panthers meet, it’s going to be a showdown between two of the beefiest quarterbacks in the game in Cam Newton and Ben Roethlisberger.
• For the Panthers, Torrey Smith is set to miss the game, while offensive lineman Ryan Kalil is a game-time decision. Eric Reid, Daivd Mayo and Mario Addison are expected to play.
• The big test for the Panthers will be taking on a rising Steelers defense on a short week.
• Be sure to peep the weekly heat index over at Cat Scratch Fever.
• And after you do that, check the latest podcast from the folks at Behind The Steel Curtain.

Panthers vs. Steelers prediction

In the Week 10 SB Nation expert picks, four of the seven picking are going with the Steelers, leaving three to pick the Panthers. The OddsShark computer is also picking Pittsburgh, while the coin flip landed on Carolina.