Pittsburgh Steelers Odds to Win the Super Bowl
Written by Steve Janus - Google +
When the 2010 NFL season got underway, few were giving the Pittsburgh Steelers much of a chance to win their division, let alone win the Super Bowl. Pittsburgh failed to even make the postseason the year before, and were going to be without Ben Roethlisberger for the first four games of the season.
What people forgot was just how good the Steelers defense is when Troy Polamalu is healthy. Polamalu played in just five games for the Steelers during the 2009-10 season, and it has become pretty clear that this is a completely different team with him in the lineup. With a healthy Polamalu in 2010, the Steelers held opponents to a league-low 14.5 ppg, and were the top ranked run defense, allowing just 62.8 yards per game on the ground. They also finished 12th against the pass.
The Steelers finished the regular season 12-4, tied with the Baltimore Ravens a top the NFC North, but because of a tie-breaker the Steelers won the division and got the No.2 seed in the playoffs. Pittsburgh went on to clarify that spot with a 31-24 win over Baltimore in the divisional round, before finally topping the New York Jets 24-19 in the AFC Championship game.
The question now is, what are the Steelers chances of winning Super Bowl 45 against the Green Bay Packers? Here is a look why the Steelers have a great shot at coming out on top.
Even though our Super Bowl odds have the Steelers listed as 2.5-point underdogs, there is still plenty of reason to like their chances.
Pittsburgh was able to win Super Bowl 43 against the Arizona Cardinals, and many of the same players on that team are still playing for Steelers. That experience of knowing what it takes to win a game of this magnitude is a huge advantage, especially when many of the Packers players have never even played in Super Bowl.
Roethlisberger has really played well in the big games, and has a chance to tie Tom Brady with three Super Bowl wins. Roethlisberger showed in his last Super Bowl appearance against the Cardinals that even when the defense lets them down, they have the ability to make that game winning drive to steal the win. With the talent these two teams have this year, I wouldn’t be surprised if this game didn’t come down to the final seconds.
While both teams have been great defensively, I believe the Steelers have the advantage in the running game. Not only are the Steelers better stopping the run, but I think they also have the better rushing attack with Rashard Mendenhall. Against the Jets, Mendenhall went off for 121 yards and a touchdown, and has three touchdowns in just two postseason games.
Finally the Steelers defense is good enough that no matter what the spread is before the game starts, the Steelers will have a chance to win if their defense lives up to their potential. Against the Packers, I think Pittsburgh is going to need a big game out of linebackers James Harrison and LaMarr Woodley, as they have to get pressure on Aaron Rodgers to have any shot at slowing down the Packers passing attack. Also keep an eye out for Polamalu, he has been relatively quiet in the first two games, and is due for a couple game changing plays.
Overall I think the Steelers have a great shot at winning Super Bowl 45, the only problem is so do the Green Bay Packers.
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