Baltimore Ravens at Pittsburgh Steelers
Sunday, 11/6/11, 8:20 PM EST, TV: NBC
Opening Point Spread: Pittsburgh -3
Current Betting Line: Pittsburgh -3
Opening Total: 42.5
Current Total: 42
Odds Courtesy of Bookmaker
The hardest-hitting rivalry in the NFL will add another important chapter on Sunday Night Football when the Baltimore Ravens visit the Pittsburgh Steelers. Last year, it was the Steelers (6-2) who came up with a key 13-10 victory at Baltimore (5-2) in prime time to split the season series and give them control of the AFC North title.
The Ravens had won the first meeting 17-14 at Pittsburgh, but Steelers safety Troy Polamalu stripped Baltimore quarterback Joe Flacco on a safety blitz with a little more than three minutes remaining. That play set up the game-winning touchdown, as Pittsburgh QB Ben Roethlisberger connected with running back Isaac Redman on a 9-yard pass to capitalize on the turnover. The victory enabled the Steelers (-3, O/U 42.5) to earn home-field advantage for the third meeting, which took place in the playoffs and resulted in a 31-24 win on their way to the AFC championship.
Roethlisberger did not play in the first meeting last season due to a four-game suspension for breaking the league’s personal conduct policy in the offseason, and he performed terribly in the season-opening 35-7 road loss to the Ravens this year. He threw three interceptions as the Steelers turned the ball over seven times overall in the rout.
Since then, Pittsburgh has gone 6-1 with the only loss coming at Houston in Week 4. The Steelers are riding a four-game winning streak and have gone 3-1 against the spread during that stretch. They are coming off a 25-17 victory against New England at home last Sunday behind 365 passing yards from Roethlisberger, who also threw for 361 in a 32-20 win at Arizona the previous week.
Meanwhile, the Ravens have struggled in their last two games, going 0-2 ATS as double-digit favorites. They rallied back from a 24-3 deficit at home against the Cardinals last week for a 30-27 victory and lost at Jacksonville 12-7 the previous Monday night. This is the first time they have been underdogs all season.
Baltimore and Pittsburgh have split the last six meetings, with the home team winning five of the past seven. The past two games between the teams have won OVER the total after last season’s meetings both went UNDER. The UNDER is 3-1 in the last four home games for the Steelers, although the OVER is 8-3-1 in the past 12 meetings and 6-1-1 in the last eight games against the Ravens in Pittsburgh.
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