Oakland Raiders at Pittsburgh Steelers, Heinz Field, Pittsburgh, PA
Sunday, November 21, 2010, 1:00 pm EST, TV: CBS
Opening Line: Steelers -8.5
Current Line: Steelers -7
Opening Total: 41
Current Total: 41.5
Money Line: Steelers -320 / Raiders +260
The Oakland Raiders (5-4) snuck up on the Pittsburgh Steelers (6-3) last year when they were 3-8 and pulled off a shocking 27-24 victory at Heinz Field. That will not be the case this time around when the Raiders visit Pittsburgh (-7) for the second time in as many years on Sunday.
Oakland is riding a three-game winning streak and coming off a bye week to help them prepare for the Steelers, who were clobbered 39-26 at home by New England on Sunday night. One of those wins for the Raiders was a 59-14 rout of Denver on the road in Week 7. That victory was the team’s third straight cover of what is now a streak of five wins in a row against the spread.
Last year, Pittsburgh native Bruce Gradkowski led Oakland to the upset win over the Steelers by completing 20 of 33 passes for 308 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions. Jason Campbell will get the nod under center but has a much more powerful running game than Gradkowski did, as running back Darren McFadden is having a career year. McFadden carried the ball nine times in last year’s game for a total of 25 yards, and he is averaging more than 108 yards per game this season.
Pittsburgh’s defense struggled a bit in the last four games, giving up 20 points or more after failing to allow more than 13 in four of the first five. The Steelers still lead the NFL in run defense, allowing only 63.2 yards per game on the ground. But Patriots quarterback Tom Brady’s 350-yard game pushed their pass defense into the league’s bottom 10, as they are surrendering 252.2 yards per game through the air.
Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger had a deceiving game against New England, as a big chunk of his yardage came after his team trailed by nearly three touchdowns. Roethlisberger finished the game with 387 passing yards and three touchdowns, two of which came in the last 6:34 after the Pats led 29-10. Kicker Jeff Reed was also cut this week after missing a 26-yard field goal, the seventh time he missed one in 22 attempts this year.
After winning three in a row both straight-up and against the spread to open the season, Pittsburgh has covered just two of its last six. The OVER has cashed in the last two games for the Steelers along with four of five. The OVER is also 3-1 on the road for the Raiders this season.
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