Venue/Stadium: Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis, Indiana
The Pittsburgh Steelers wanted to blame their quarterback following a 35-7 loss to the division rival Baltimore Ravens in which they turned the ball over seven times, including three interceptions and two lost fumbles from Ben Roethlisberger.
Time/Date: Sunday September 25, 2011 – 8:25 PM ET
NFL Odds from TheGreek
Moneyline: Steelers -500
Spread (ATS): Steelers -10
Over/Under: 39
After a 34-7 loss to the division rival Houston Texans, the Indianapolis Colts just wanted their franchise quarterback in the lineup again. While the Colts struggled again with Peyton Manning in last week’s 27-19 loss to the Cleveland Browns, the Steelers rebounded with Roethlisberger throwing for 298 yards and a touchdown in a 24-0 win over the Seattle Seahawks, paving the way for a Sunday night primetime clash between two teams considered AFC favorites before the season got underway.
Pittsburgh may still rank among the contenders in the AFC despite a sluggish start, but without Manning under center the Colts have already proven they have no chance of competing for anything other than the first overall pick in the 2012 NFL Draft. People around the league knew that Indianapolis would be in trouble if Manning went down, but few expected it to be this bad with the Colts getting outscored 61-26 through consecutive losses to open the season. Indianapolis has had a hard time slowing down the opposition run while failing to move the ball on offense, and that is the perfect recipe for disaster matched up against the Steelers’ strengths. [soliloquy id=”82219″]
While Roethlisberger continues to improve on his decision-making, Pittsburgh should have no problem handing the ball to running backs Rashard Mendenhall and Isaac Redman and letting them pound it up the middle. The Steelers have to want to rank higher than 20th in rushing this season, and much of that will depend on how Mendenhall and Redman perform. The Pittsburgh defense has looked strong against the pass, but has been a shadow of the team that dominated against the run the past few years with an average of 100.5 yards against on the ground so far. A big chunk of that belongs to the Ravens, as the Steelers look to strengthen things up front.
The Colts have looked loss with Manning and that likely won’t change against a determined Steelers team, as Pittsburgh looks to make a statement and send Indianapolis to 0-3 under the Sunday Night spotlight.
NFL Betting Pick: Steelers -10
