Headline: Battered Steelers Host Rival Ravens for AFC North Supremacy
One of the more anticipated Week 11 matchups has been significantly watered down with the news that Ben Roethlisberger is highly doubtful to play after sustaining a separated shoulder on Monday night.
Typically the Monday night game is a sweet one, but not so much this week with the Steelers (5-3) taking on the Chiefs (1-7) the Steelers have won 3 straight games to get back in the playoff picture while the Chiefs have lost 5 in a row and are struggling on both sides of the ball.
Headline: Steelers Aim to Keep Raiders Winless in Week 3
The Oakland Raiders, one of the sexy picks to have a breakout season try to get off the schinde this Sunday against Pittsburgh Steelers team that got their first win of the season last week despite the absence of three key starters.
It’s Manning Time Again! Broncos Open at Home versus Steelers
In one of the most anticipated opening Week games in years, Peyton Manning and his Denver Broncos (still sounds weird to say!) play host to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday night. Both teams are early Super Bowl contenders and both will be using this game as a measuring stick for just exactly where they are as a team.
With the Reds running away with the NL Central the Pirates and Cardinals will have to chase the Wild Card to make the post-season. St. Louis and Atlanta are tied for the Wild Card lead while Pittsburgh is 2 games back.
Pitt (11-7) has beaten Syracuse (19-0) in 8 of their last 9 match ups including the last 5 at the Carrier Dome, but the Orange are undefeated and the top-ranked team in the nation while the Panthers are reeling and have lost their first 5 Big East games.
The Pittsburgh Steelers head to the Mile High City on Sunday to take on a suddenly struggling Denver Broncos team that has already exceeded all expectations.
It has been a season to forget for the Cleveland Browns. The Browns have lost eight of their last nine games. Pittsburgh still has a shot at home field advantage in the playoffs, but they must win this game.
The Steelers have won 9 of the last 10 meetings between these two rivals.
Pittsburgh Steelers (11-4) vs. Cleveland Browns (4-11)
Time/Date: 4:15 PM EST, January 1, 2012
Venue: Cleveland Browns Stadium
Broadcast: CBS
Steelers vs. Browns Gambling Odds from 5Dimes
Spread: Steelers -7
Moneyline: Off
Over/Under: 36
The Browns would love nothing more than to end the season by hurting their hated rivals playoff positioning. Don’t expect Cleveland to roll over in this one.
Ben Roethlisberger didn’t play in last week’s game against the Rams, but he is expected to return for this regular season finale. Big Ben has thrown 21 touchdowns and 14 interceptions so far this season. He will certainly be a bit gimpy due to his sprained ankle, but he has shown the ability to fight through injury plenty of times before. Rashard Mendenhall had one of his best games of the year last week against St. Louis. Mendenhall averaged 6.4 yards per carry last week. Mike Wallace is one of the best deep threats in the NFL. Pittsburgh has four players with at least 41 receptions this year. The Steelers average 20.8 points per game.
Pittsburgh’s defense continues to be the main reason this team is such a dominant force. The front seven is the best in the league. James Harrison, Lamarr Woodley, James Farrior, and Lawrence Timmons are beasts in the 3-4 defense of Dick LeBeau. Woodley is listed as doubtful for this one, but Jason Worilds is a very good replacement. The secondary is tremendous, and it all starts with free safety Troy Polamalu. This defense has no real weakness. Pittsburgh allows just 14.5 points per contest. [soliloquy id=”82219″]
Cleveland’s offense has been lacking explosiveness all season long. Colt McCoy has improved in his second year as the starter, but he is listed as questionable for this one due to a concussion suffered last time these teams met. Peyton Hillis hasn’t had a good season overall, but his last two games have been much better. Hillis ran for 99 yards two weeks ago and 112 last week against the tough Ravens defense. The Browns need a big game from Hillis to have any chance in this game. Greg Little has been the most consistent receiver for this team, but they are lacking a big play maker on the outside. Cleveland is averaging a miserable 13.9 points per game.
The Browns defense has actually been very good this year. Cleveland has had a lot of close games because this unit has held the opposition down even when the Browns offense is doing almost nothing. The primary reason for the big improvement on defense is the talented secondary. Joe Haden has an amazing 19 pass deflections this year. Haden is the young leader of this talented secondary. Cleveland has struggled against power running teams. Overall, the Browns are giving up just 19.6 points per game this year.
The Browns will fight hard in this one, but they are overmatched. Pittsburgh has plenty of incentive to be playing hard all the way in this one. Expect Pittsburgh to cover here.
NFL Free Pick: Steelers -7
How will the Pittsburgh Panthers respond to a shocking loss this past week? Pitt was rolling along in the top ten before falling at home to unranked Wagner. The Panthers must put the pieces together quickly as they travel to South Bend to take on Notre Dame Tuesday night.
The Pittsburgh Steelers blew an incredible opportunity to get a leg up in the AFC North last Monday but failed to show up in San Francisco.
One of the biggest surprises in the NFL this season has been the emergence of the San Francisco 49ers under new head coach Jim Harbaugh. A
When the Pittsburgh Steelers take the field this Sunday night under the Primetime spotlight, they will be looking to make a statement against a battered and bruised Kansas City Chiefs’ team.
Regardless of records or importance, there is no NFL rivalry quite like when the Baltimore Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers get together on the gridiron.
The Seattle Seahawks return from their bye this week in search of their third win in four games when they travel East to take on a Cleveland Browns team that is certainly improved but has lost two straight games.
After falling flat in losses to Baltimore and Houston early this season, the Pittsburgh Steelers got back on track with a statement win over Tennessee last week. Ben Roethlisberger threw five touchdown passes as the Steelers romped 38-17 over a hyped Titans team.
Here we go with today’s sports water cooler talk. Here, you won’t just find the straight news; you’ll find the stuff everyone is talking about – the ice breakers, the Twitter Sports Picks and topics…well, basically all the stuff you discuss at the water cooler.
