The Steelers can’t afford to overlook the Carolina Panthers tonight because they have too much resting on this game.  They are tied atop the AFC North with the Baltimore Ravens.  The Steelers are only 4-3 at home this season so hopefully they don’t come out flat tonight.  The Panthers are 0-6 on the road this season but they won last week so they are probably feeling pretty good about themselves right now.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Steelers have the ball:  I have a feeling that the Steelers are going to come out running the ball tonight with Rashard Mendenhall against a Panthers’ D that is allowing 126.2 yards rushing per game and 4.0 yards per carry.  If the Steelers can’t get the Panthers to creep up a little bit to stop Mendenhall, that’s when they are going to go up top to Mike Wallace on some deep passes.  Roethlisberger will have to be careful tonight because the Panthers do have a decent secondary that specializes in picking off passes.

When the Panthers have the ball:  The Steelers are going to have to go all out to stop Jonathan Stewart who has rushed for 460 yards in the Panthers last four games.  The Steelers are only giving up 63.4 yards rushing per game and 3.0 yards per carry so they should be up for the challenge.  I expect the Steelers to heavily blitz rookie QB Jimmy Clausen in an effort to force him into making some mistakes.

PREDICTION:  STEELERS 23, PANTHERS 10

The Steelers have won four games in a row in which they have only allowed 36 combined points.  They are 1 game behind the Patriots for the best record in the AFC, and they are also 1 game ahead of the Ravens in the AFC North.  The Jets have lost two games in a row in which they have been outscored by a combined score of 55-9!  The Jets are 2 games behind the Patriots in the AFC East and they are currently one of the Wild Card teams in the AFC.  This game is going to be a slobberknocker as both teams need this game.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Steelers have the ball:  The Steelers are going to come out trying to run the ball with Rashard Mendenhall against a Jets’ D that is allowing only 88.5 yards rushing per game and 3.4 yards per carry.  The Jets are without a doubt going to come out blitzing against the Steelers who have had problems protecting Ben Roethlisberger lately due to injuries along the O-Line.  Roethlisberger will have to be careful in this game when looking to throw to WRs Hines Ward & Mike Wallace because the Jets have a nice set of corners in Darrelle Revis & Antonio Cromartie.

When the Jets have the ball:  The Jets are going to come out running the ball with L.T., Shonn Greene & Brad Smith.  The Steelers would be happy with that as they are only giving up 60.1 yards rushing per game and 2.9 yards per carry so far this year.  With Troy Polamalu (Achilles) out of action I look the the Jets to take quite a few shots down the field if Sanchez has time to throw the ball.  You just know that Santonio Holmes wants to stick it to his old team.

PREDICTION:  STEELERS 20, JETS 17

The Steelers have won three games in a row by a combined score of 67-29 to take the lead in the AFC North over the Ravens.  But, they can’t afford to overlook the Bengals who only lost 27-21 to the Steelers the first time these two teams played.  Sure, the Bengals have lost 9 games in a row but I look for them to bring everything they got this Sunday at Heinz Field.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Steelers  have the football:  To protect Ben Roethlisberger’s health a bit, I think the Steelers should run the ball a lot in this game.  Rashard Mendenhall and Isaac Redman should be able to handle a heavy workload against a Bengals’ D that is allowing 124.9 yards rushing per game and 4.6 yards per carry.  With a broken nose and a fractured foot, the Steelers aren’t likely to have Roethlisberger throwing a lot this week because the O-Line has been decimated due to injuries,  putting his health at risk every time he drops back to pass.  The Bengals only have 14 sacks this year, but if you remember, the Patriots didn’t have much of a pass rush either and they were all over the QB. 

When the Bengals have the ball:  I see the Bengals airing it out this Sunday.  With that in mind the Steelers are going to have to get after Carson Palmer or he’s going to make plays against a Steelers’ D that is allowing 239.3 yards passing per game.  If the Bengals can get a passing game going then look for them to give the ball to Cedric Benson who has had some success against the Steelers in the past.

PREDICTION:  STEELERS 24, BENGALS 17

This is the big game!  The Steelers and Ravens are tied atop the AFC North with 8-3 records.  The Steelers are 5-1 on the road this season but Ben Roethlisberger is a little gimpy with a fractured foot.  The Ravens are 5-0 at home where they have outscored opponents 135-88.  The Ravens won the first match between the teams this year in Pittsburgh, 17-14.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Steelers have the ball:  With Ben Roethlisberger gimpy and the O-Line hurting, I look for the Steelers to try to run more than usual on Sunday Night.  Rashard Mendenhall is going to have to carry a heavy load this weekend against Ray Lewis and his cohorts.  The Ravens are allowing 101.7 yards rushing per game and 4.2 yards per carry so they aren’t invincible any more.  Terrell Suggs and Haloti Ngata are likely going to put a lot of pressure on Roethlisberger in this game.  Roethlisberger has not been effective when he has to get rid of the ball quickly.

When the Ravens have the ball:  The Ravens are likely going to run a balanced offense.  While the Steelers are only allowing 64.0 yards rushing per game and 3.0 yards per carry, the Ravens back down from no one.  Look for Ray Rice and Willis McGahee to run the ball a lot on Sunday Night and for them to both be involved in the passing game.  If Joe Flacco has time to throw the ball he’s going to have a good day against the Steelers’ pass defense which is allowing 240.5 yards passing per game so far this year.

PREDICTION:  RAVENS 23, STEELERS 20

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 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 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

These two teams just don’t like each other period.  The Bengals swept the Steelers last season and they are in desperation mode as another loss will likely cause them to start preparing for 2011.  The Steelers got punked last week by the Saints and they should really be on a two game losing streak because of the garbage that happened at the end of the Dolphins’ game.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Steelers have the ball:  The Bengals only have six sacks this year but they have 9 interceptions as they have an outstanding set of corners.  Leon Hall and Jonathan Joseph are lockdown corners who will likely give Hines Ward and Mike Wallace fits on Monday Night.  With that in mind maybe the Steelers will look to Heath Miller in the passing game as he has been a forgotten man in the offense.  The Bengals have been soft against the run this year as they are allowing 120.7 yards rushing per game and 4.5 yards per carry meaning that Rashard Mendenhall should have a good game.

When the Bengals have the ball:  The Bengals have a lot of talent on offense.  They will likely spread the field out with Jordan Shipley, Jermaine Gresham, Terrell Owens and Chad Ocho Cinco and let Carson Palmer hit the open man.  The Bengals’ O-Line has only allowed 10 sacks this year so the Steelers might get burned badly if they blitz.  Cedric Benson is not easily intimidated so he will try to take the fight to the Steelers.

PREDICTION:  BENGALS 23, STEELERS 20

The Steelers are 2-0 since the evil QB has returned to action, but they should thank the refs for last week’s win.  The Saints got beat at home by the Browns.  The Steelers have traveled well so far this year as they are 3-0, outscoring the opposition 80-46.  The Saints have been very up and down this year.  They are 2-2 at home this season and they have been outscored 80-71.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Steelers have the ball:  If Ben Roethlisberger can make it through the night in the Big Easy without getting handcuffs put on him the Steelers will likely be in good shape.  The Saints have a better pass defense than a run D so look for the Steelers to try to be more balanced than usual on offense.  That will be up to Rashard Mendenhall against a Saints’ D that is allowing 108.7 yards rushing and 4.0 yards per carry.  Roethlisberger will take some shots deep to Mike Wallace and he will keep the short stuff to Heath Miller & Hines Ward.

When the Saints have the ball:  The Steelers are going to have to disrupt Drew Brees’ rhythm or they could be in some trouble.  That’s because the Steelers are giving up 235.7 yards passing per game this year.  The Saints have a deep set of WRs and TEs so the Steelers can’t really double anyone.  After watching last weeks’ game between the Browns and Saints I can only think that safety Troy Polamalu will have at least one big play in this game. 

PREDICTION:  STEELERS 27, SAINTS 23

The Steelers have been a very solid road team so far this year as they are 2-0 having outscored the Bucs & Titans by a combined score of 57-24!  The Dolphins have been awful at home this year as they are 0-2 while getting outscored 72-37!  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Steelers have the ball:  The Steelers would like to run a balanced offense this Sunday against the Dolphins.  For that to happen the offensive line is going to have to be able to handle the Fins’ front seven to give Rashard Mendenhall running room.  The Fins are giving up 109.4 yards rushing and 4.1 yards per carry so that shouldn’t be a problem.  If the Steelers can keep Ben Roethlisberger clean he should have a good day throwing the ball.  The Steelers must keep OLB Cameron Wake (6 sacks this year) away from Roethlisberger on Sunday afternoon.

When the Dolphins have the ball:  The Dolphins are likely going to throw the ball a lot on first down in this game to stop the Steelers from overplaying the run.  This will likely loosen up the front seven so that Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams can find some running room.  The Steelers have been a tad soft against the pass so they need the linebackers (James Harrison, Lawrence Timmons and LaMarr Woodley) to get after Chad Henne.  If Henne has time to throw the ball he has the receivers to make the Steelers pay for it especially Brandon Marshall.

PREDICTION:  STEELERS 23, DOLPHINS 20