Pittsburgh Steelers vs. St. Louis Rams

 

by Kris Lazaro

12/20/07

PIT 43.5 STL 9

The Pittsburgh Steelers rush into St. Louis this Thursday to challenge the Rams and hope to end their 2 game losing streak.  The Steelers, who are now tied with the Cleveland Browns in the AFC North division, hope this trip to St. Louis will be a victorious one; otherwise, it will be yet another year until the Steelers return to post season play. 

The Steelers sit at 9-5 (7-7 against the spread) for the season, while 2-4 on the road (both straight up and against the spread).  They are coming off 2 tough games against quality opponents—New England beat them 34-13 on December 9th, 2007, while the Jacksonville Jaguars defeated them 29-22 on December 16th, 2007.  Both games were tough for the Steel Nation to swallow, but what is in the past is in the past.  The Steelers must now look to the future and nurse a half game lead over their division rival, the Cleveland Browns (since they beat them twice this season, the Steelers will win the tiebreaker if both teams have similar records at the end of the season).  Specifically for this game, the Steelers should have an easy time against the Rams.  The do still have one of the stingiest defenses in the league, giving up only 15.6 points per game (on average).  Star quarterback Ben Roethlisberger should have a field day against a Ram secondary that is giving up on average 219.1 yards per game in the air. 

On the other side of the field, the Rams are having a sub par season.  They are 3-11 on the season and 5-9 against the number.  At home, they are much worse, going 1-6 and 2-5 against the spread.  They come into this contest after losing to the great Brett Favre and his amazing Green Bay Packers by the score of 33-14 last Sunday (the Rams lost as a 7 point home underdog).  The Rams are in a disarray this season and the author does not see much of a change this Thursday. 

The author sees a nasty game developing where the Steelers run away with the game.  Oddsmakers have made the Steelers an 8 point road favorite, with betting action pushing the line down to 7.5 at most sportsbooks at the time of writing. 

Game prediction:  35-17 Steelers.