Pittsburgh Steelers at Baltimore Ravens: NFL Picks Week One
Written by Matthew Regaw
Sun, 11 Sep 2011
Category sportsbook
Feedback Rating - no votes
In week one of the NFL season, one of the best rivalries in the league will highlight a great schedule. The Pittsburgh Steelers at Baltimore Ravens series is not for the faint of heart. They are smash mouth football at its best and will be littered with hard hits and sharp smack-talk. Whenever these two AFC North Division rivals face off a great game is nearly a guarantee.
Baltimore’s M & T Bank Stadium will be rocking this Sunday with kickoff is at 1:00 PM. The current line on this game listed at the top rated sportsbooks has the Ravens as slim one point favorites, after opening up at -2.5. The average margin of victory in four of the last five games has been three points so this line comes as no surprise.
Baltimore will be loaded again on offense as Ray Rice will be the main man in the backfield and Joe Flacco will take the snaps under center. Anquan Boldin and former Buffalo Bill wideout Lee Evans will be the top targets for Flacco, as tight end Todd Heap was sent packing.
On defense, the Ravens may be getting older, but they still boast one of the best defenses in football. Ray Lewis and Terrell Suggs lead the fierce attack with Ed Reed patrolling the secondary and terrorizing opposing signal callers. The team they face on Sunday also has an impressive defense.
James Harrison and James Farrior anchor the Steelers defense as two intimidating forces that can lay the lumber. Strong safety Troy Polamalu is the soft spoken leader that wreaks havoc on other teams. With an influx of young defenders the Steelers should once again be among the best in the league on defense.
Ben Roethlisberger is coming off his best season statistically and is showing signs that he could actually be better this year. Rashard Mendenhall is the featured back, and the receivers have a mixture of speed and experience with Mike Wallace and Hines Ward.
When it comes to sports betting trends both teams have some bright spots. The Ravens have a history to start the season off right as they are 4-1 against the spread (ATS) in the last five games in week one, and 7-2 ATS in the last nine games in September. This could be a bit deceiving, considering the Steelers never opened against the Ravens.
The Steelers are also highly successful in week one, covering the spread at a 5-1 ATS clip in the last games in week one of the season. The football betting trends then start to accumulate towards Pittsburgh. They are 5-1 ATS in their last six against the AFC and 13-4 ATS in their last 17 games as an underdog of 0.5-3.0. The series trends also favor the Steelers.
The Steelers are 5-1-1 ATS in their last seven meetings and the Underdog is 6-2-1 ATS in their last nine meetings.
Rice is banged up and that won't help playing against the bruising Steelers, Flacco is prone to fumbling as he has already accumulated 19 over his young career. In a series that has been as close as this one, turnovers will be a vital stat that could decide the game.
This game goes down to the wire and the Steelers emerge victorious with a very tough win.
Free Pick: Pittsburgh Steelers +1