Pittsburgh Steelers at Arizona Cardinals
Sunday, 10/23/11, 4:05 PM EST, TV: CBS
Opening Point Spread: Pittsburgh -4
Current Betting Line: Pittsburgh -4
Opening Total: 41.5
Current Total: 43.5
Odds Courtesy of Bookmaker
Pittsburgh has won two consecutive games and is coming off a 17-13 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars as 12.5-point home favorites. The Steelers gained 315 yards offensively in the first half, while being limited to just 70 in the second half. On the other side of the ball, the defense continues to be one of the best in the league, allowing just 270.5 yards per game. Pittsburgh is 7-5 ATS as a favorite of 3.5 to 9.5 points and the ‘under’ is 7-5 in those contests.
The Steelers are led offensively by quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, who comes into this contest with nine touchdown passes and six interceptions, but five of those scoring throws came in one game. Pittsburgh hopes that running back Rashard Mendenhall can continue pounding the rock on the ground, finishing with 146 yards and a touchdown on 23 attempts last week, which definitely showed that he’s over the affects of a hamstring injury he was suffering from. The former Illinois runner has 2,758 career rushing yards, placing him 13th in the franchise in that particular category.
Arizona comes in off the bye week and will be looking to snap a four-game losing streak, including an embarrassing 34-10 loss to the Minnesota Vikings as 3.5-point road underdogs. The Cardinals dropped the first there games of their current losing streak by a combined eight points. “When you take a week off and another team is rolling and you’ve got to play them and they have momentum, that can hurt you,” stated Cardinals defensive tackle Darrell Dockett. Arizona is 11-11 ATS as an underdog and the ‘over’ is 12-11 in that span.
The Cardinals are hoping that offseason acquisition Kevin Kolb turns things around after the week off, as he has a 77.2 passer rating this season, but it’s actually 60.8 over the last three games. Arizona has managed to average just 17.0 points and 222.8 yards per game over the losing streak, but head coach Ken Whisenhunt has faith in his signal-caller turning things around. “Kevin has always been a good leader,” stated Whisenhunt. On the defensive end, Arizona will look to get after Roethlisberger, who has been sacked 18 times already this season.
Bettors will likely back the Cardinals due to their 16-5-1 ATS mark as a home underdog of 3.5 to 10 points, while the Steelers are 0-4 ATS on the road.
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