The Pittsburgh Steelers clinched the division championship with this win and the Browns loss last Sunday….but they lost RB Willie Parker for the season with a broken leg in this game.  Ben Roethlisberger was outstanding as usual in this game as he completed 16 of 20 passes for 261 yards with 3 TD passes.  Najeh Davenport replaced Willie Parker in this game and all he did was carry the football 24 times for 123 yards (5.1 ypc) with a TD run and he also caught 2 passes for 44 yards (22.0 avg) with a TD grab.  Rookie RB Carey Davis also got some action as he carried the ball 6 times for 28 yards (4.7 ypc).  Santonio Holmes was outstanding in this game as he caught 4 passes for 133 yards (33.3 avg).  Hines Ward (6 rec, 59 yards) and Nate Washington (2 rec, 50 yards, 2 TDs) also had good games.  The Steelers finished up with 166 yards on 37 carries (4.5 ypc) and they also completed 17 of 21 passes for 259 yards.

The Steelers Defense was led by CB Ike Taylor who had 5 tackles and a 51-yard interception return for a TD.  The Rams finished up with 90 yards rushing on 15 carries (6.0 ypc) and they also completed 21 of 42 passes for 226 yards.

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The Steelers are fading as they have lost 3 of there last three games and they find themselves tied with the Cleveland Browns at 9-5.  They hold the tiebreaker with the Browns because they defeated them twice.  But, the Steelers are only 2-4 on the road this season and their last two games are on the road.  The Rams have played better lately as they are 3-3 over their last six games after starting the season 0-8.

The Steelers will need to establish the running game if they want to win this football game.  With that in mind look for Willie Parker (1,317 yards rushing) to get a ton of carries against a Rams Defense that is allowing 111.1 yards rushing per game and 4.1 yards per carry.  The Steelers need a running game to slow the Rams pass rush as Roethlisberger has been sacked 43 times already this season.  If Roethlisberger has time to throw the ball the Rams could be in some trouble as they have allowed 218.3 yards passing per game this season.

The Rams will likely copy the Jaguars gameplan that stuck it to the Steelers defense.  That means the Steelers will have to deal with a heavy dose of Steven Jackson in the game tonight.  Don’t think for a minute that the Rams will abandon the passing game as they have too many weapons for the Steelers’ secondary to deal with.  It will be up to Marc Bulger to get rid of the football quick on passing plays as he’s been sacked 44 times this season and the Steelers blitz early and often.

PREDICTION:  STEELERS 27, RAMS 24

The Jaguars punched the Steelers in the mouth Sunday and the bleeding still hasn’t stopped.  The Jags were ballhogs like the Steelers usually are as they had control of the football for 37:39 of this football game.  That made things way too hard for the Steelers to overcome.  Ben Roethlisberger didn’t have his best game as he completed 16 of 33 passes for 146 yards with 3 TD passes.  He also carried the ball 2 times for 15 yards (7.5 ypc).  Willie Parker had a good game as he carried the ball 14 times for 100 yards (7.1 ypc).  Hines Ward (4 rec, 31 yards), Heath Miller (2 rec, 24 yards) and Nate Washington (1 rec, 30 yards) each caught a TD pass in this game.   The Steelers finished up with 111 yards rushing on 17 carries (6.5 ypc) and they also completed 16 of 33 passes for 106 yards.

Troy Polamalu and Larry Foote led the defense with 10 tackles apiece.  The Jags finished up with 224 yards rushing on 42 carries (5.3 ypc) and they also completed 17 of 33 passes for 197 yards.

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Both of these teams are 9-4 on the season and they mirror each other in offensive style and physical play.  This game will come down to who wants it more and it will be interesting to see which team it winds up being.

Despite the Steelers only allowing 72.6 yards rushing per game and 3.6 yards per carry it won’t stop Fred Taylor and Maurice Jones-Drew from attacking them.  The Jags are averaging 143.8 yards rushing per game and 4.4 yards per carry so something has to give and it will be interesting to watch.  David Garrard has been outstanding this season (103.3 QB Rating) as he has been moving the football around as Dennis Northcutt is leading the team with only 39 catches.  That makes it really hard for the DBs to concentrate on any one receiver.

The Steelers will likely come out running the ball with Willie Parker and Najeh Davenport against the stern run defense of the Jags who allow only 93.1 yards rushing per game and 3.9 yards per carry.  Ben Roethlisberger will need to be careful with the ball in this game as the Jags have intercepted 16 passes already this season.

PREDICTION:  PITTSBURGH STEELERS 20, JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS 17

The Steelers proved yesterday that there bark is much worse than their bite.  The Steelers were talking smack all week about what they were going to do to the Patriots and it just fired them up.  In fact, it appeared that the Patriots gameplan was set up to attack the Steeler (Anthony Smith) with the biggest mouth and they burnt him repeatedly to a crisp!  Ben Roethlisberger had a so-so game as he completed 19 of 32 passes for 187 yards with a TD pass.  He also carried the football 4 times for 24 yards (6.0 ypc).  Willie Parker had a solid game as he carried the ball 21 times for 124 yards (5.9 ypc) and he also caught 4 passes for 23 yards (5.8 avg).  Najeh Davenport also had a decent game with 6 carries for 33 yards (5.5 ypc) and he also caught 1 pass…..for a 32-yard TD.  Hines Ward led Steelers receivers with 5 catches for 39 yards (7.8 avg).  The Steelers finished up with 181 yards rushing on 32 carries (5.7 ypc) and they also completed 19 of 32 passes for 168 yards.

The Steelers defense was led by Ike Taylor who had 7 tackles.  Anthony Smith, who guaranteed a Steelers victory, finished up with 6 tackles and he was burnt often in this game.  The Patriots finished up with 22 yards rushing on 9 carries (2.4 ypc) and they also completed 32 of 46 passes for 399 yards.

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