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Pittsburgh Steelers vs New England Patriots NFL Betting Odds & Spread

Written November 27, 2008 by Jason Lowry

This Sunday the New England Patriots will look to keep things rolling this week when they host the Pittsburgh Steelers in a game that has playoff implications for both teams. Last week the Patriots used another 400 yard performance from Matt Cassel, as New England payed revenge against the Dolphins 48-28. The Steelers kept their slim one game lead in the AFC North over the Ravens with a solid 27-10 win over the Bengals last week. If you are looking to do a little NFL betting on this game, the oddsmakers have the Patriots 1 point favorites over the Steelers at Bookmaker.com

Now you might wonder why this game is so important for the Steelers, if they are leading their division, but after facing New England this weekend the Steelers have to face the Cowboys at home and then take on the Ravens and Titans on the road before finishing off the season against rival Cleveland. Against the Bengals last week the Steelers used a solid performance from Ben Roethlisberger, who threw for 243 yards and a score, but one concern was star running back Willie Parker who just didn’t look at full strength last week and it looks like its unlikely he will be able to go this week against the Patriots. That means they will again turn to Mewelde Moore to lead the rushing attack, and considering Moore’s recent success this season it shouldn’t be too big of problem.

The Steelers defense is a big reason they are where they are this season, as they are getting outstanding play from a number of players including LaMarr Woodley, James Harrison, and Troy Polamalu. Last week Woodley chipped in with a sack and Polamalu grabbed his 5th interception of the season. This was all part of the Steelers solid effort against the Bengals where they allowed just 43 yards rushing and 168 yards through the air. This defense will try and be the first team to slow down Matt Cassel who has looked great over the last couple weeks. Bet Steelers +1 at Bookmaker.com

The Patriots come into this one riding high thanks to Cassel’s all of the sudden emergence into one of the better quarterbacks in the league this season, as he torched the Dolphins last week for 415 yards and 3 scores, all going to Randy Moss who had 125 yards receiving on the day. Cassel also hooked up with Wes Welker for 120 yards, and that wasn’t the end of it, as Cassel also had a rushing touchdown in this one. Now with the Steelers strong against the run, if the offense explodes again this weekend, we wouldn’t be surprised to see Cassel put up another huge day throwing the football, but with the Steelers defense you wouldn’t expect Cassel to get near the 400 mark for the 3rd straight week.

The Patriots defense responded well against the same Dolphins team that handed them one of their worst losses of the season at home earlier this season, as Cassel had barely seen any action by that point. That Pats had their troubles stopping the air attack of Chad Pennington, as he threw for 341 yards and 3 scores in this one, but they were solid against the run, as the Dolphins had just 62 yards on the ground. It won’t be easy against the Steelers, but you have to like the way this team has played football over the last couple weeks. Bet Patriots -1 at Bookmaker.com

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