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NFL Betting Odds: Pittsburgh Steelers at Denver Broncos

Written November 5, 2009 by Rock Henderson

Two of the AFC’s best teams collide on Monday night when the Pittsburgh Steelers travel to the Mile High City to take on the Broncos. Denver suffered their first defeat of the season last week at Baltimore and will look to rebound against the defending Super Bowl champion. The Steelers have righted the ship after a disappointing 1-2 start and are in a tight battle in their division with Cincinnati and the Ravens. According to the latest NFL betting lines Pittsburgh is a 3 point favorite on the road with a total set at 39.5.

The philosophy for the Steelers has always been to run the ball between the tackles and play physical defense for four quarters. This season they have turned the keys over to QB Ben Roethlisberger and are throwing the ball all over the field. Big Ben is completing over 70% of his passes while throwing for 2062 yards. He has connected on 11 touchdown passes and thrown six interceptions. One of the biggest criticisms of the six year vet is that he has a tendency to hold onto the ball for too long which has led to getting sacked 20 times. While the passing attack is running full throttle, they still have two capable running backs. Second year back Rashard Mendenhall has taken over the starting position and ran for 418 yards with four scores. His break out game came against San Diego this season while Willie Parker was injured. Since then, Parker has returned from injury, but is seeing less carries because of the play of Mendenhall. The Steelers are loaded in at the wide receiver position. Any given Sunday Hines Ward, Santonio Holmes, Mike Wallace or tight end Heath Miller can put up big numbers. The defense isn’t necessarily the Steel Curtain, but they still rank 6th in the league against the pass. Sign up for a new account with BetUS and deposit $500 or more to get a $500 match bonus that you can use to bet the NFL.

One of the best stories of the season has been the start of the left for dead Denver Broncos. First year head coach Josh McDaniels is an early favorite for coach of the year and has the city of Denver believing in their team again. Their first loss of the year showed that the offense still has some work to do as the defense could not carry them to a win this time. QB Kyle Orton has brought leadership to the team and is running the offense efficiently. Rookie RB Knowshon Moreno is carrying the load in the backfield and has rushed for 420 yards with two scores through seven games. Denver’s numbers aren’t going to blow your mind offensively, but they move the ball on opposing defenses with a nice mix of run and pass. Controversial WR Brandon Marshall got off to a slow start, but has started to play at his Pro Bowl level even though Denver doesn’t throw as much as other teams. The real reason for the turnaround in Denver is the play of their defense. They rank 2nd in the league in points allowed, 1st in total yards per game and 3rd in rushing yards allowed. The Broncos have always been known as an offensive juggernaut that has issues stopping teams, but that has changed this season.

I think this game comes down to a field goal either way so the line is spot on here. Denver had to slip up sometime eventually and it just happened to be last week. Expect the coaching staff to make the necessary adjustments from last week’s loss and get back to their winning ways. The Broncos have a strong pass defense and forget about running on them. Take the field goal at home. Play: Broncos +3

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