The Pittsburgh Steelers were dominated by the Baltimore Ravens a week ago. Can they find a way to win a road game against a decent team? They’ll need to if they want to make the playoffs.
Pittsburgh Steelers @ Carolina Panthers
Sunday, September 21st – 8:30 PM ET
Odds: Carolina -3.5
Why The Steelers Will Cover
They have had a few days of extra rest compared to the Panthers, having played last Thursday night while Carolina played on Sunday in week two. Pittsburgh needed the break, and the Steelers, with Dick LeBeau as their defensive coordinator, should be able to come up with a good plan that can contain Carolina quarterback Cam Newton, who is still trying to deal with the aftereffects of a rib injury that has constrained his mobility. Newton is a very important player, and it’s true that Carolina benefits simply by having him on the field. The Panthers would not want backup Derek Anderson to have to take any more snaps than necessary.
Nevertheless, Newton is not a full-strength player right now. He needed his defense to stand tall and hold the Detroit Lions to only seven points last week. Carolina scored only 13 points in the game’s first three quarters as the defense is what carried the team most of the game. If Pittsburgh can limit Carolina to just 13 points in the first three quarters of this game on Sunday night, the Steelers have to like their chances. Pittsburgh quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and the rest of his teammates have to accept that when they played the Baltimore Ravens in Baltimore during the week of the Ray Rice controversy, they knew they were going to take the Ravens’ best shot. Carolina doesn’t face that same situation, and Pittsburgh can take advantage of it.
Why The Panthers Will Cover
They are simply the better team with the better defense. Pittsburgh’s defense has a great reputation, but it has to be said that the Steelers’ defense has not been living up to its reputation a lot in recent years. Veterans such as Troy Polamalu are not as good or as fast as they used to be. The Steelers are, if not an old franchise, an organization that has not been able to turn over its roster in such a way that it has newer, younger talent which can overwhelm opponents. The Steelers have clearly lost their bite and do not scare or intimidate teams the way they used to. Roethlisberger doesn’t have that extra burst of speed and the Steelers do not have a star running back at the heart of their offense the way they once did. This looks like yet another average Pittsburgh team.
Carolina is not a great team, but its defense is good enough to bail out the offense. Twice this season, the defense has done most of the work for the Panthers, with Luke Kuechly leading the way. How good and deep are the Panthers on defense? With Greg Hardy being suspended for domestic violence, a backup named Mario Addison merely stepped in against the Detroit Lions this past Sunday and recorded 2.5 sacks. That’s what this defense does. At home on Sunday night, the Panthers are in a position to make life miserable for Big Ben.
Outlook
If Carolina’s defense plays up to its normal standards against an offense that doesn’t have many weapons, Pittsburgh is in huge trouble. The Panthers should definitely win this game.
Pick: Panthers -3.5
