The Steelers got really lucky to win this game in O.T.  WR Steve Johnson burnt the Steelers’ secondary deep in O.T. but he dropped a ball in the end zone that hit both of his hands giving the Steelers new life.  Then with 2:14 left in the O.T. period, kicker Shaun Suisham nailed a 41-yard field goal to give the Steelers a big win on the road.  Ben Roethlisberger was so/so in this game as he completed 20 of 33 passes for 246 yards with 0 TD passes and 0 INTs.  He also carried the ball 1 time for 18 yards yesterday.  Rashard Mendenhall was solid for the Steelers yesterday with 151 yards rushing on 36 carries (4.2 ypc) with a TD run.  Isaac Redman (5 carries for 25 yards) and Mewelde Moore (3 carries for 12 yards and 4 catches for 33 yards) also helped the Steelers in the backfield yesterday.  WR Hines Ward (7 rec, 107 yards) and TE Heath Miller (4 rec, 46 yards) led the way in the passing game for the Steelers yesterday.  The Steelers finished up with 206 yards rushing on 45 carries (4.6 ypc) and they also completed 20 of 33 passes for 220 yards as they had the ball for 45:23 of this game which was 18 minutes more than the Bills had the ball.

The Steelers’ D got lucky yesterday as the Bills were dropping a ton of passes that were hitting them in the hands.  LBs Lawrence Timmons (8 tackles), James Harrison (6 tackles, 1 sack, 1 tackle for a loss and 1 QB hit) and James Farrior (6 tackles, 1 sack, 1 tackle for a loss, 2 passes defensed and 2 QB hits) led the way for the D in this game.  Safety Troy Polamalu pitched in with 4 tackles, 3 passes defensed, 1 fumble recovery and 1 interception yesterday.  The Bills finished up with 74 yards rushing on 17 carries (4.4 ypc) and they also completed 23 of 45 passes for 255 yards.  The Steelers are now 8-3 on the year setting up a showdown with the Ravens next Sunday Night in Baltimore.

The Steelers have been up and down the last four weeks alternating wins and losses.  The Bills have won two games in a row but they were against the Lions & Bengals.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Steelers have the ball:  The Steelers are likely going to have a big game on offense as the Bills are allowing 163.5 yards rushing per game (4.7 ypc) and they also are allowing 208.9 yards passing (99.1 QB Rating) per game this year.  Rashard Mendenhall will likely have a heavy workload on the ground.  Ben Roethlisberger should have plenty of time to throw the ball as the Bills only have 15 sacks this year.  I look for him to spread the ball around to Mike Wallace, Hines Ward, Heath Miller and Emmanuel Sanders through the air.

When the Bills have the ball:  If the Bills are smart they will come out throwing the ball against the Steelers who are giving up 239.1 yards passing per game so far this year.  Steve Johnson and Lee Evans are two pretty darn fast receivers and I think they are going to make some plays if Ryan Fitzpatrick has time to throw the ball.  Fred Jackson is a solid RB but I think he’s going to have a hard time against the Steelers’ front seven. 

PREDICTION:  STEELERS 34, BILLS 17

The Raiders scored first in this game and it appeared to piss the Steelers off!  The Steelers completely dominated this football game.  Ben Roethlisberger completed 18 of 29 passes for 275 yards with 3 TD passes and 0 INTs.  He also carried the ball 3 times for 55 yards (18.3 ypc) with a TD run.  Roethlisberger was taunting Raiders DE Richard Seymour after a TD  and Seymour whacked “Little Ben” in the chin with a open hand and he went down like a ton of bricks.  Seymour was only fined $25,000 bucks but he was ejected from the game.  If Seymour pulled this against any other QB in the NFL he would have been suspended.  Rashard Mendenhall carried the ball 23 times for 59 yards (2.6 ypc) with a TD run.  Isaac Redman pitched in with 27 yards rushing on 5 carries (5.4 ypc) and he also caught 1 pass for 16 yards and it went for a TD.  Mike Wallace had anothe monster game for the Steelers with 3 catches for 116 yards (38.7 avg) with a TD grab and he also carried the ball 1 time for 19 yards.  Rookie WR Emmanuel Sanders pitched in with 2 grabs for 35 yards (17.5 avg) with a TD grab.  The Steelers finished up with 162 yards rushing on 33 carries (4.9 ypc) and they also completed 18 of 29 passes for 269 yards.

James Harrison (5 tackles, 2 sacks and a interception),  James Farrior (8 tackles and a sack) and Troy Polamalu (6 tackles and a interception) led the way for the Steelers’ on D in this game.  The Raiders finished up with only 61 yards rushing on 16 carries (3.8 ypc) and they also completed 20 of 43 passes for 121 yards.  The Steelers are now 7-3 on the season.

The Steelers and Raiders are two teams going in opposite directions right now.  The Steelers are 1-2 in their last three games in which they have been outscored 80-63.  The Raiders have turned their season around as they are on a 3-game winning streak having outscored the competition 115-37!  The Raiders certainly are not intimidated by Heinz Field or the Steelers as they beat them there last year.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Steelers have the ball:  The Steelers should come out running the ball with Rashard Mendenhall against a Raiders’ D that is allowing 124.8 yards rushing per game and 4.5 yards per carry so far this year.  With the offensive line in flux, Ben Roethlisberger isn’t going to have much time to throw the ball as the Raiders already have 27 sacks so far this year.  That means the Mike Wallace, Hines Ward and Heath Miller are going to have to catch shorter passes than usual and take some hits.

When the Raiders have the ball:  The Steelers are only giving up 63.2 yards rushing per game (2.8 ypc) but the Raiders are averaging 162.2 yards rushing (4.9 ypc) so far this year.  That means that the Steelers better tighten up the chinstraps because Darren McFadden is coming after them this Sunday.  The Steelers must get to Jason Campbell before he can throw the ball as the secondary sucks right now.  The Raiders have a good TE (Zach Miller) and two of the fastest WRs on the planet (Jacoby Ford & Louis Murphy) so the secondary is going to have their hands full.

PREDICTION:  RAIDERS 24, STEELERS 20

The Steelers started last season 6-2 before losing 5 games in a row which really cost the Steelers.  This year they were also 6-2 before losing to the Patriots last weekend.  The Steelers also play four of the five teams that beat them last year in their losing streak so they better step up soon.  While the offensive line is depleted right now, excuses are for losers.  The Steelers are 37-20 (64.9%) under the 38-year old Mike Tomlin in his four years with the team during the regular season.

The Steelers have signed 28-year old kicker Shaun Suisham to replace Jeff Reed.  Suisham played in 14 games for the Redskins & Cowboys last season and he made 20 of 24 field goals (83.3%) and 25 of 26 extra points good for 85 points.  He has played in 57 games in his six years in the NFL and he has made 87 of 110 field goals (79.1%) and 101 of 103 extra points good for 362 points.  The Steelers hope that Suisham will be a huge improvement over Jeff Reed who was leaving too many points on the field.

The Steelers have finally seen enough of 31-year old kicker Jeff Reed so they have released him.  Reed played in 9 games for the Steelers this year and he made 15 of 22 field goals (68.2%) and 19 of 19 extra points good for 64 points.  Reed played in 127 games in his 9 years with the Steelers and he connected on 204 of 249 field goals (81.9%) and 307 of 310 extra points good for 919 points.  Reed always seemed to come up with excuses whenever he missed a kick and his drunken escapades off the field didn’t helps things.  Good riddance I say.

The Patriots repeatedly punched the Steelers in the mouth last night as the final score is not indicative of the beating they took.  The Patriots led this game 23-3 after three quarters giving them all the cushion they would need.  Ben Roethlisberger’s numbers look solid but he was sleepwalking for the first three quarters last night.  He completed 30 of 49 passes for 387 yards with 3 TD passes and 1 INT (it was returned 32-yards for a TD by Patriots’ safety James Sanders).  Roethlisberger also carried the ball 1 time for 12 yards in this game.  Rashard Mendenhall carried the ball 11 times for 50 yards (4.5 ypc) and he also caught the ball 2 times for 5 yards (2.5 avg).  Mewelde Moore had 4 carries for 14 yards (3.5 ypc) and he also caught 5 passes for 79 yards (15.8 avg) in this game.  WR Mike Wallace came alive late in this game as he caught 8 passes for 136 yards (17.0 avg) with 2 TD grabs.  WR Antwaan Randle-El (5 rec, 66 yards), TE Heath Miller (5 rec, 60 yards) and WR Emmanuel Sanders (5 rec, 41 yards, TD) also pitched in for the Steelers in the passing game.  The Steelers finished up with 76 yards on 16 carries (4.8 ypc) and they also completed 30 of 49 passes for 349 yards.

LB James Farrior (10 tackles), CB Bryant McFadden (9 tackles, 1 pass defensed), LB James Harrison (9 tackles, 1 QB hit) and safety Ryan Clark (9 tackles) led the way for a very POOR effort by the Steelers’ D.  The Patriots finished up with 103 yards rushing on 24 carries (4.3 ypc) and they completed 30 of 43 passes for 350 yards.  The Steelers are now 6-3 on the year.

The Steelers are coming off a nice road win in a dogfight last Monday Night in Cincinnati.  The Patriots are coming off a surprising beatdown in Cleveland last weekend.  The Steelers can’t be too confident because the Patriots are in the same exact scenario that the Saints were in before they beat up the Steelers as they lost to Cleveland the week before.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Steelers have the ball:  The Steelers are operating with a whole new left side of the O-Line and that could be big trouble in this game.  With that in mind it might be smart to come out running the ball with Rashard Mendenhall against a Patriots’ D that is giving up 117.6 yards rushing per game and 4.1 yards per carry so far this year.  The Patriots are likely going to be blitzing a lot more than usual in this game so Ben Roethlisberger is going to have to make quick decisions with the ball especially with two new starting linemen on his blind side.

When the Patriots have the ball:  The Steelers are going to have to blitz Tom Brady like mad men because if he has time to throw the ball he’s going to have a ton of success against the Steelers’ weak secondary.  The Steelers are allowing 240.0 yards passing per game this year and that’s pretty lousy.  The problem with defending the Patriots is that Brady doesn’t favor any of his WRs and TEs as he spreads the ball around.

PREDICTION:  STEELERS 27, PATRIOTS 24

The Steelers have placed starting LT Max Starks on the Injured Reserve List with a neck injury which is going to require surgery.  Starks played in 7 games (all starts) for the Steelers this year and he has played in 95 games (68 starts) in his career with them.  Rookie 5th round pick Chris Scott will likely take over as the starting LT for the Steelers going forward.  His next game will be the first one of his NFL career.  Ben Roethlisberger is going to need to grow eyes in the back of his head with Scott on his blind side.