Green Bay Packers at Pittsburgh Steelers Betting Preview
Opening Line: Packers +2 / Steelers -2 O/U 40.5
Time: 4:15 PM Sunday December 20, 2009 on FOX
Man, do the Steelers need to win this game. The defending chaps have lost 5 in a row and they looked terrible in losing last week to the Cleveland Browns where they only scored 6 points. In their 5 game losing streak they lost to the Chiefs, Raiders, and Browns who have a combined record of 9-30. The Steelers need to win out to have any chance at making the playoffs and even if they do win out there is still a good chance they will not have the chance to repeat as Super Bowl champions. The Packers, on the other hand, have won 5 straight and are in the drivers seat to at least snag a Wild Card berth. It will be hard to catch the Vikings in the NFC North, as Minnesota swept the Packers this season and lead them by 2 games in the division.
Last week the Steelers lost to the lowly Cleveland Browns 13-6 while the Packers beat the Chicago Bears 21-14.
This season the Steelers are 4-9 ATS and the Packers are 8-4-1 ATS.
The Steelers look to avoid their first 6 game losing streak in 10 years with a win in this game. The Steelers need to provide some offense in this game, as QB Ben Roethlisberger and Rashard Mendenhall have to move the chains in this game. One big reason the Steelers are struggling is their offensive line play. The line has a few banged up players and in last week's loss to the Browns Big Ben was sacked 8 times and that was against a Cleveland defense that ranks 31st in the league. The Packers' defense ranks 2nd in the league and they are stellar against both the pass and the run. They also have 29 sacks this season so the Steelers' offensive line has to have a good game or they will be in trouble. Pittsburgh has to hold onto the ball in this game, as Green Bay's D ranks 2nd in the league with 33 takeaways.
The Packers' offense ranks 5th in the league and they are very well-balanced being able to both run and pass the ball. One of the main reasons the Packers are winning, unlike the Steelers, is their offensive line. For the first half of the season QB Aaron Rodgers, who is the 4th rated QB in the league, was getting sacked way too often, but in Green Bay's last 3 games he has only been sacked 4 times. Ryan Grant (1,068 yds 7 TD) has played well and the Pitt D has to worry about him as well as Rodgers. Overall, the Steelers' defense ranks 4th in the league, but have struggled in the past few games. S Troy Polamalu will miss this game and he has only played in 3 games all season and Pittsburgh was 3-0 in those games.
This is a playoff game for the Steelers, as if they lose they will be watching the playoffs from home.
The Packers are 4-0-1 ATS in their last 5 games and the Steelers are 1-4 in their last 5 games.