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San Diego Chargers at Pittsburgh Steelers NFL Spread & Picks

Written by Jimmy Boyd

bolts steelers 10209 The San Diego Chargers invade Pittsburgh to take on the defending Super Bowl champion Steelers on NBC’s Sunday Night Football. Last week, the Chargers improved to 2-1 with a 10-point win over the Dolphins while the Steelers fell to 1-2 with a 23-20 loss to division rival Cincinnati. These teams last met in the divisional round of last season’s AFC playoffs with Pittsburgh winning 35-24 behind a big day from Willie Parker. The Steelers have won six of the last seven meetings and own a decisive 21-8 advantage in the all-time series. NFL lines makers think Pittsburgh will get back to .500 this week, listing the Steelers as the 6-point home favorite with the total set at 43.

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This game is a big one for Pittsburgh, which already finds itself two games behind the Ravens in the North. After back-to-back close losses, I’m not ready to say the Steelers are going through a Super Bowl hangover just yet. If they can get the win this week, they are still in really good shape with games against Detroit and Cleveland ahead in Weeks 5 and 6.

The key for Pittsburgh will be to get its running game going. Steelers running back Willie Parker has broken the century mark in each of his last two games against the Chargers. Plus, San Diego’s defense has allowed a minimum of 130 yards rushing in each of its first three games. If Pittsburgh can get the running game going, which is something they haven’t done a very good job of thus far, the talented Charger pass rushers won’t be able to stick their hands in the dirt and take target practice on Ben Roethlisberger every down. Defensively, Pittsburgh is still one of the best in the business, but it clearly misses the big play ability of safety Troy Polamalu. It is worth noting that Pittsburgh is 12-1 against the spread in home games off an upset loss to a division rival as a favorite since 1992, winning by an average score of 22.8 to 12.3 in these situations. If you think Pittsburgh has what it takes to bounce back strong this week, bet the Steelers at -6 at BetUS.

Star running back LaDainian Tomlinson has missed each of San Diego’s last two games and as a result, the Chargers have gotten next to nothing on the ground. Darren Sproles is not an every down back and it is showing as he is averaging just 2.4 yards per carry. Tomlinson has been upgraded to probable for Sunday’s game and his presence on the field could give the Chargers’ offense a big boost.

While a return from L.T. would help the San Diego ground attack this week, I can’t see him being explosive enough to change this football game. That means the Chargers will have to win it with the strong right arm of Philip Rivers. Rivers leads the league with 991 passing yards through three games. With both teams struggling to run the football, this one could turn into a good old fashioned gun slinger contest between Big Ben and Rivers. San Diego could have the advantage as it is 15-5 against the spread versus good passing teams with a completion percentage of 61 or better over the last 3 seasons and 14-4 against the number in road games versus poor rushing teams averaging 90 rushing yards per game or fewer since 1992. If you like San Diego catching points Sunday, bet the Chargers at +6 at BetUS.

*Note: Jimmy Boyd’s Sunday NFL expert picks are up and ready for action. Make sure you get in on his 5* 2009 NFL Non-Conference Game of the Year!

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