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Ravens at Steelers NFL Betting Lines

Written December 23, 2009 by Kyle Hunter

The Pittsburgh Steelers kept their small postseason hopes alive by winning in stunning fashion last week against the Green Bay Packers. The Baltimore Ravens sit at 8-6 and are in decent shape for a playoff berth, but they really need to win this game, and that will no easy task. These two AFC North division rivals always get together for some very tough battles, and one could expect this one to be as hard hitting as they come. Get an extra $120 to bet the NFL when you signup for a new account at SportsInteraction and deposit $120.

The Pittsburgh Steelers were looking like the Super Bowl Champions after crushing Denver and moving to 6-2. They then lost their next 5 games before pulling off last weekend’s miracle. This team is clearly a shell of what it was a year ago right now, but they are fighting hard to try to get back into the playoffs since they know anything can happen. Ben Roethlisberger had a day for the record books last weekend. Big Ben threw for 503 yards, a Steelers franchise record, and also threw 3 touchdowns and 0 interceptions. The Steelers passing attack is ranked 6th in the league, but it is their normally reliable rushing attack that is averaging just 110 yards per game. The classic smash mouth offense isn’t there for Pittsburgh this year, and it seems they are having a hard time adjusting. The defense of the Steelers has missed Troy Polamalu badly, especially in the pass defense where they are now ranked 18th in the NFL.

The Baltimore Ravens had very high hopes for this season and they were a little disappointed when they fell to 6-6 a couple of weeks ago, but two big wins over Detroit and Chicago have them at 8-6 and very much in the race for the playoffs. Baltimore, unlike many in the AFC, controls its own destiny. Quarterback Joe Flacco has had some rough games, but overall he has definitely matured and last week’s 4 touchdown game showed what he is capable of doing. Ray Rice is probably one of the more underrated running backs in the league. Rice is averaging 5.4 yards per carry and has also caught 73 passes already this season. Todd Heap is finally starting to get healthy again, which helps Flacco have a nice big target to throw to in short yardage situations. The Ravens defense isn’t as imposing as it once was, but it is still very good. The Ravens have been great at keeping their opponents out of the end zone and holding them to field goals, which is why they are 2nd in the NFL in points allowed at 16.1 per game.

The NFL odds for this weekend show Pittsburgh as a small 2.5 point favorite in this big AFC match up. The posted total is set at 41 points. Interestingly, the over is 6-1 in the last 7 meetings between these two teams, so remember that when making your NFL predictions this week.

Big Ben and the Pittsburgh offense should be able to put some points on the board, but they’ll need a little bit of a running game or Baltimore will really bring the heat. The biggest key to this game is probably the turnover battle, so keep an eye on that one during the game.

I have my 3 star trio of NFL picks for this Sunday ready to go and the first play goes off on Friday night. Check out this package and all the other premium packages and subscriptions, which are all backed with a guarantee!