Steelers Handle Business Against Lowly Lions
The Pittsburgh Steelers found themselves an unlikely ally in an all too close road game against the Detroit Lions: the fans. With Steelers’ fans at times appearing to outnumber Lions’ supporters, the Steelers got a late game boost from their enthusiasm. On the field, Ben Roethlisberger threw a season high three touchdown passes as the Steelers survived by a final score of 28-20. Pittsburgh improved to 3-2 with the victory, while Detroit dropped to 1-4. Despite their record, Detroit has shown signs of progress.
NFL betting enthusiasts who backed the Lions as +11 home underdogs were rewarded with the pointspread cover. The Lions have covered two of their five games this season, while the Steelers slumped to 1-4 against the number. Its a longstanding pointspread trend for the defending Superbowl champion to underperform against the number and particularly in the early part of the season.
After the game, the biggest topic of conversation was the vocal support of the Pittsburgh fans. Linebacker LaMarr Woodley said that they were making so much noise that it undermined the Detroit offense’s effort:
“That worked in our favor. Those offensive linemen couldn’t hear the snap count, so they had to watch the ball just like we do.”
Hines Ward also praised the fans that made the 4 hour trip from Pittsburgh, saying it evoked memories of the 2006 Superbowl at the venue:
“It brought back a lot of memories. We had just as many fans as we did that time.”
Head coach Mike Tomlin added his praise:
“Man, they traveled awesome. It was spectacular to stand on the visiting sideline and see the fan support that we had today in this building.”
Lions’ coach Jim Schwartz took some consolation from his team’s effort in the loss:
“We didn’t always play smart in that game and we didn’t always play well, but I’m proud that we battled the whole way. There were a couple places where it would have been easy for us to give in, and we didn’t do that.”
Lions’ QB Daunte Culpepper echoed his coach’s sentiments:
“I still think we have a good ballclub here, but a good ballclub will look at a situation like this and use it to find a way to start winning these games. That’s what we have to find a way to do.”
The Steelers return home for their next two games. They’ll host the Cleveland Browns on Sunday, with the Steelers a -14 home favorite and the total set at 38. The Minnesota Vikings will come to town the following Sunday and after a bye week Pittsburgh will head west to face the surprising Denver Broncos on Monday, November 9. The Lions will play at Green Bay this weekend as a +13 road underdog with the total set at 48. They’ll enjoy a bye the following weekend before hosting the St. Louis Rams on Sunday, November 1.
Ross Everett is a widely published freelance writer and noted authority on sports betting odds comparison. He writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sportsbooks and World Cup betting sites. He lives in Las Vegas with three Jack Russell Terriers and an emu. He is currently working on an autobiography of former interior secretary James Watt.
Saints Rip Giants Behind Brees’ Four TD Passes
Heading into last Sunday, there was a consensus that the New York Giants were the best team in the NFL with an undefeated record, a productive offense and the league’s top ranked defense. The New Orleans Saints made a compelling case to the contrary, however, as they dismantled the Giants to win 48-27 behind yet another MVP-like performance from quarterback Drew Brees. Brees threw for 369 yards and four touchdowns with no interceptions as New Orleans kept their record perfect on the season at 5-0.
NFL betting enthusiasts who took New Orleans as -3 home favorites were confident that they’d be cashing a ticket by halftime as the Saints shot out to a 34-17 lead at the break. The Saints also remained perfect against the NFL pointspread at 5-0, while the Giants failed to cover for the first time this season and stand at 5-1 ATS.
After the game, Brees explained his team’s strategy:
“We wanted to really dictate the tempo of the game the whole way through. Seven different guys scored touchdowns. That’s big. That’s the type of rhythm that, when you get in, you feel like you can call anything and it’s going to work.”
The Saints are off to their best start since’93 and have yet to trail in a game this season. Still, head coach Sean Payton wasn’t entertaining talk that his team had established themselves as the presumptive Superbowl favorite:
“I don’t think you can talk about big pictures after game 5.”
Giants’ QB Eli Manning was looking forward to a homecoming of sorts-his father, Archie, played the same position for New Orleans during his NFL career. Suffice to say it didn’t go as he had planned:
“It’s not the way I imagined it during the week, but you’re going to encounter all sorts of games and all sorts of situations. I look at it as a loss. We need to go back to work this week, fix some things and try to improve.”
New York head coach Tom Coughlin marveled at the play of the Saints’ offensive line who gave Brees great protection all day long:
“I don’t know that we ever hit him. At this level, if you’re going to stop the pass, you’ve got to get pressure. You’ve got to force the quarterback not to throw it on his tempo.”
The Saints will now face the Miami Dolphins on the road, with New Orleans a -6 favorite and the total set at 47. After the trip to south Florida they’ll return home for a game against longtime rival Atlanta on Monday night football. They’ll then host the Carolina Panthers on November 8. The Giants return home to play the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday night, with New York a -7 home favorite and the total set at 46. They’ll head to Philadelphia to play the Eagles next week before returning home for a date against the San Diego Chargers on November 8.
Ross Everett is a freelance sports writer and highly respected authority on soccer betting. His writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sports news and sportsbook directory sites. He lives in Las Vegas with three Jack Russell Terriers and an emu. He is currently working on an autobiography of former energy secretary Donald Hodell.
Texans Even Record With Win Over Bengals
Behind a career day for quarterback Matt Schaub, the Houston Texans erased a 17-14 halftime deficit to score– points in the second half and defeat the host Cincinnati Bengals 28-17. Schaub threw for 342 yards and 4 touchdowns against one interception in the solid road victory. Against a team that had won three straight games in the final seconds, Houston never gave Cincinnati the chance to create any late drama. Cincinnati dropped to 4-2 with the loss while Houston evened their record at 3-3.
Houston took the money as +3′ road underdogs with the outright win, and both teams are now 3-3 on the season against the NFL pointspread. The 45 points just managed to stay UNDER the posted total of 46. The Texans have gone UNDER in 4 of 6 this season while the Bengals evened their NFL totals record at 3-3.
After the victory, Schaub said that his team knew of Houston’s penchant for late game comebacks and that ‘putting them away’ would be a priority:
“Every game went down to the wire for them. Credit goes to them because they were able to find ways to win those games. So it was a matter of putting the game away.”
The Texans’ stoic head coach Gary Kubiak would only offer that:
“Matt continues to put up exceptional numbers on the road.”
The defense did a stellar job as well, shutting out the Bengals in the second half. In the third quarter, Houston only allowed six yards on nine plays for a franchise record. Cornerback Dunta Robininson talked about the defensive corps mindset:
“It was swarm tackling. Everybody has a job to do, and today we made this team a one-dimensional team. Overall as a defense, we played well.”
In the losing locker room, wide receiver Chad Ochocinco admitted that his team knew that they couldn’t rely on last minute heroics to win games:
“That’s our fault. We’ve been saying that we can’t keep winning with the way we’ve been playing. We’ve got to be consistent for all four quarters.”
The Bengals will play their next two games at home, starting with a contest against the Chicago Bears this Sunday. They’ll host the Baltimore Ravens the following Sunday before traveling to Pittsburgh for a game against the Steelers on November 15. The Texans host the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday. They’ll take to the road for the next two games, playing Buffalo on November 1 and Indianapolis the following Sunday.
Ross Everett is a freelance sports writer and respected authority on sports betting odds comparison. He writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sports news and sportsbook directory sites. He lives in Las Vegas with three Jack Russell Terriers and a kangaroo. He is currently working on an autobiography of former energy secretary Donald Hodell.
