The Pittsburgh Steelers (10-1) at The Jacksonville Jaguars (6-5)
Against the Spread: Steelers 7-3-1 | Jaguars 6-5-0
Game Time: 8:30 PM ET ESPN Sunday Night Football
Opening NFL Betting Line: The Steelers -3 -103 Over/Under 35u -105
Current High NFL Betting Line: Steelers -3.5 -110
Current Low NFL Betting Line: Steelers -3 -110 to -115
Over/Under 35u -110
At First glance this game just looked too dangerous for action. But, after a closer examination, the Steelers look good for a smallish wager.
QB Ben Roethlisberger showed some “rookieness” in the last couple of games but kept it together enough for Pittsburgh to get the wins. More importantly was how he did sans his favorite target, WR Plaxico Burress, as well as RB Duce Staley. Tonight will see the return of Staley, and maybe(?!) Burress. RB Jerome Bettis has proven that can still be a problem for defenses and with Staley back he won’t have to work quite as much.
The Steelers defense is solid to say the least, allowing only 15 points a game. They are in the top 3 in pass defense, with a bunch of takeaways vs. very few giveaways (+12) with a good chunk of those turned directly into touchdowns (3 on INT’s, 4 on fumbles). When it comes to the run D there is no better. Allowing only about 79 yards a game on the ground this will be a critical ingredient to this match-up.
Jacksonville QB Byron Leftwich's performance in his return to the starting line-up last week was unremarkable. He ended the day 19 of 34 for 235 yards and a TD. RB Fred Taylor had more success, gaining 147 yards on 22 carries, but was kept out of the endzone. This was against a very poor defense in the Vikings. The Jaguars will need to markedly improve in those areas if they hope to stay in this game for 4 quarters.
On the other side of the ball however, Jacksonville can stand a little taller. They have the ability to slow down the ground game and are moderately effective against the pass. The question marks here are going to be can they contain Staley and Bettis, and force Roethlisberger into a game where he has to throw to win? That they gave up 100+ to the very weak rushing game of Minnesota and to the Chris Brown-less Titans shouldn't have them feeling very comfortable about their ability to stop the assault that they will face against Pittsburgh.
Two possible ways on this game, the Under and the Steelers.
My Online Betting Action: The Steelers -3
Anna Kournikova poses for NFL Pick of the Week
