By Charles Jay
The Pittsburgh Steelers capped off a successful 2014 campaign with a victory over the Cincinnati Bengals in the season finale to capture the AFC North division title. But they paid a heavy price in the process. Now they must move forward without the man who could be considered their Most Valuable Player as they play host to the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC wild-card game, as football playoff betting action kicks off at 8:15 PM ET at Heinz Field in the Steel City.
Pittsburgh has to go without running back Le’Veon Bell, who is second in the NFL this season with 1361 yards, AND has caught 83 passes. They don’t have all that much behind him, since they released the Garrett Blount, who they considered to be a bad influence on Bell. Josh Harris, an undrafted free agent out of Wake Forest, will get the start at running back. But Vietbet patrons know that it is absolutely impossible to replace Bell.
Baltimore had a rough season, with a choppy 5-4 record over their last nine games. At the season’s outset, they had to deal with a controversial issue, as running back Ray Rice was brought up on a domestic abuse issue, suspended by the NFL, and then given his release when a videotape of the encounter in question with his wife became public. The Ravens needed answers in the backfield, and they certainly got one, with Justin Forsett surging to a big season, with 1266 yards on a 5.4-yard average. So now he is the potential difference-maker in the backfield.
The Ravens were 10-6 straight-up, with an 8-8 mark against the football pointspread. The Steelers were 11-5 straight-up and 9-7 ATS.
In the football playoff betting odds that have been posted on this game at Vietbet, Pittsburgh is favored by a field goal, with an additional price attached:
Pittsburgh Steelers -3 (-120)
Baltimore Ravens +3 (+100)
Over 44.5 points -110
Under 44.5 points -110
Baltimore has a pair of very dangerous receivers. Steve Smith made a successful move in free agency from Carolina, and registered 1065 yards through the air. Torrey Smith averaged 15.7 yards per reception and scored 11 touchdowns. This is a handful for the Pittsburgh secondary to deal with. Remember that the Steelers gave up 30 touchdown passes this season. And this was something of a comeback season for Gary Kubiak, Baltimore’s offensive coordinator, who is now actually being mentioned in connection with open head-coaching jobs.
It would not be surprising if Ben Roethlisberger elected to abandon the run altogether. He has enough receivers to choose from, headed up by Antonio Brown, who caught 129 passes this year, the second most for a single-season in NFL history, and burned the Ravens with 144 yards in the second meeting between these two teams. Big Ben has complementary weapons as well, including Markus Wheaton (644 yards), Martavs Bryant (21-yard average, eight touchdowns) and tight end Heath Miller (761 yards). But Vietbet customers are well aware of the potential problems involved with Baltimore knows he’s just going to drop back and throw on almost every down. The Ravens had 49 sacks on the season, and their game plan has always been to put a lot of pressure on opposing passers.
These teams went into the season with five straight encounters that were decided by three points or less. But both meetings this year were blowouts. Baltimore beat Pittsburgh 26-6 in the second week of the season, but Pittsburgh came back to score a 43-23 victory at Heinz Field seven weeks later, behind six touchdown passes from Roethlisberger. Ravens coach John Harbaugh was upset enough to release two of his defensive backs. Needless to say, they’re in a happier place now.
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