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Steelers Cardinals Odds

The Pittsburgh Steelers hit the road Sunday to take on the Arizona Cardinals in a rematch of one of the most exciting Super Bowls in NFL history. Following the 2008 season, the Steelers beat the Cardinals 27-23 in a game that saw Ben Roethlisberger find Santonio Holmes in the corner of the end zone for the winning score. These teams have only squared off three times since the turn of the century, with Pittsburgh winning twice.

According to the latest odds, the books have set a line of Pittsburgh -4 over Arizona with a total of 43 points.

Pittsburgh

The Steelers simply haven’t been as sharp in 2011 as many NFL fans expected they would be coming into the season. Pittsburgh (4-2, 1-2 away) has spoiled us with their dominance over the last few years, so their struggles in the early going are certainly a surprise. Still, this remains one of the best teams in football, and they continue to get the job done.

Pittsburgh beat Jacksonville 17-13 last week in a game that looked like it was going to be a blowout from the start. They had 315 yards of total offense in the first half while jumping out to a 14-point lead, but only managed 70 yards after intermission as they allowed the Jaguars to hang around. Rashard Mendenhall returned from a hamstring injury to rush for 146 yards and a touchdown. The Steelers have won four of their last five games, but their four wins came against teams who are a combined 6-16.

While the offense has struggled at times, the defense continues doing their part. Pittsburgh has the No. 1 unit in total defense (270.5 yards/game), and they are allowing just 157.7 yards/game through the air. It’s not like Pittsburgh’s offense has been bad, either. The Steelers are 10th in the league in total offense (373.0 yards/game). What has killed them is their -11 turnover margin as they’ve given the ball away 13 times, while only getting two takeaways all season. The Steelers will have a healthy Troy Polamalu this week, but they will be without James Harrison, Casey Hampton and Aaron Smith.

Arizona

The Cardinals look to get their season turned around, and perhaps the bye week came just in time for them. Since a season-opening 28-21 win over the Carolina Panthers, Arizona (1-4, 1-1 home) has dropped four straight. Their most recent setback came against the previously winless Minnesota Vikings. The Cardinals were pummeled 34-10 on the road by the Vikings on October 9th.

Arizona is averaging 17.0 points and 222.8 passing yards per game during their four-game slide. Kevin Kolb hasn’t played up to the level the team had hoped when they traded for him this offseason. Kolb went just 21 of 42 passing with two interceptions and a lost fumble against Minnesota. For the season, he is completing 58.7 percent of his passes for 1,281 yards with five touchdowns and six picks.

Beanie Wells is finally showing some signs of life this season, rushing for 381 yards and six touchdowns while averaging 4.8/carry. Larry Fitzgerald is doing his thing with 27 receptions for 427 yards and two scores. Arizona ranks 18th in the league in total offense (340.2 yards/game) and 21st in total defense (377.0 yards/game). Kolb has just one touchdown and five picks in his last three games, and things don’t look like they are going to get any easier for him Sunday.

Betting Trends

The Steelers are 7-3 ATS in their last 10 vs. a team with a losing record, and 6-1 ATS in their last 7 games following an ATS loss. However, Pittsburgh is 0-5 ATS in their last 5 games following a S.U. win, and 0-4 ATS in their last 4 road games.

The Cardinals are an impressive 16-5-1 ATS in their last 22 games as a home underdog of 3.5-10.0 points, and 10-4 ATS in their last 14 games as a home dog overall. But Arizona is only 6-14 ATS in their last 20 games dating back to last season, and 1-4 ATS in their last 5 vs. a team with a winning record.