Pittsburgh Favored On MNF Against Denver

NFL News - November 3rd, 2009 - Written by Scott

After a frustrating start to the season which included an overtime win against a slumping Tennessee Titans and losses to the Chicago Bears and Cincinnati Bengals, pundits were quickly forgetting that the Pittsburgh Steelers were the defending champions of the league.

Now, they are quickly reminding them.

Winners of four-straight, the Steelers have a revitalized running game, an elite air attack and a defense that is getting back on track with Troy Polamalu back in the lineup. And ESPN is licking their chops with a primetime match-up against the Denver Broncos on Monday Night Football. The Steelers are favored on the road by three points with an even payout. The Denver Broncos deliver a -120 reward if selected with the points. The over/under is 40.

For Denver, it's business as usual. After starting the season 6-0, they had been favored in only one game and covered the spread in every instance. Oddsmakers finally jumped on board last week, favoring them in a road game against Baltimore that they inevitably lost. Now, it's back to the skepticism, underdogs at home, accorind go BetUS, despite boasting one of the league's stingiest defenses.

Not that Pittsburgh is clueless when it comes to defense. Their game before last week's bye against the Minnesota Vikings was won by an impressive fourth-quarter stand in which they forced two turnovers in the final three minutes. Both of them were returned for touchdowns to preserve a 27-17 win, handing the Minnesota it's first loss of the year. James Harrison has continued his comeback after winning Defensive Player of the Year in '08. He is third in the NFL in sacks (8) and is second on the team with 41 tackles.

But it's been the offense that has carried the team to a 5-2 start. Ben Roethlisberger is on pace to become on of 10 quarterbacks with 4,000 yards passing this year and has thrown for at least 275 yards five times.

He has also benefited from fresh legs in the backfield now that Rashard Mendenhall has taken the leading role. After being benched earlier in the year, Mendenhall ran for 165 yards against the San Diego Chargers in Week Four and has 418 yards overall with an average of 5.4 per carry. He will have a tougher time breaking through the lines this week against top-ranked defense.

Kyle Orton has been one of the league's best quarterbacks and a big reason for Denver's hot start. His touchdown-to-interception ratio is 9-to-1, best in the NFL and has connected with Brandon Marshall for a touchdown four times. Running back Knowshon Moreno has 420 yards on the ground and his platoon-mate Correll Buckhalter is averaging six yards a pop.

Pittsburgh is coming off a bye and is 1-5 ATS in their last six years after an off-week.

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