Pittsburgh Steelers v. Green Bay Packers Odds
The Pittsburgh Steelers are the only team in NFL history to win the Super Bowl as a No. 6 seed. The Green Bay Packers have an opportunity to become the second. Super Bowl odds makers have given Green Bay the edge in Super Bowl 45. They have listed the Packers as a 2.5-point favorite with the total set at 44.5.
Green Bay has defeated each of the top three seeds in the NFC on the road to reach this stage, just like Pittsburgh did when it won the Super Bowl in the 2005 season.
The Packers took care of Chicago in the NFC championship game. They looked dominant early, taking a 14-0 lead into halftime before holding on for a 21-14 victory.
Quarterback Aaron Rodgers may have been the story in Green Bay’s divisional playoff win over Atlanta, but the defense was the story against the Bears. Green Bay’s stop unit held Chicago to 301 total yards and forced three turnovers. The defense was especially impressive on third down, holding the Bears to a 1 of 13 on third down conversion chances.
Rodgers finished 17 of 30 for 244 yards with no touchdown passes and two interceptions. He did run for a score. Eight of his completions went to wide receiver Greg Jennings, who finished with 130 yards receiving.
Like Rodgers, Pittsburgh quarterback Ben Roethlisbeger struggled in a 24-19 victory over the New York Jets in the AFC title game. He completed 10 of 19 passes for 133 yards with no touchdown passes and two picks. And like Rodgers he rushed for a touchdown. Fortunately, Pittsburgh’s defense was able to bail out the offense. The Steelers held the Jets to 289 yards of offense.
Led by running back Rashard Mendenhall, the Steelers did rack up 166 yards on the ground, which helped them control the clock.
Running the football figures to be critical to Pittsburgh’s chances of hoisting a seventh Lombardi Trophy. Green Bay ranked just 18th against the run during the regular season with 114.9 rushing yards per game allowed. The Packers, however, have cracked down on the run during the postseason, holding all three of their opponents to 83 yards rushing or fewer.
It is worth noting that the Packers are 8-1 against the spread in their last nine games after allowing 99 or less rushing yards in three straight games.
The Packers certainly don’t figure to get much of anything done on the ground against Pittsburgh’s top-ranked run-stuffing unit. The Steelers only allowed 62.8 yards rushing per game during the regular season and have held their two playoff opponents to 70 rushing yards or less.
The pass defense has been more susceptible. Pittsburgh ranked 12th in the league against the pass during the regular season with 214.1 yards allowed per game through the air. The Steelers must do a better job in pass coverage than they did in the second half against the Jets if they want to come out on top in Super Bowl 45. They allowed Mark Sanchez to complete 20 of 33 passes for 233 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions in the AFC title game.
Prior to that game, however, Pittsburgh had held five straight opponents to 182 net passing yards or less. It also can’t go unmentioned that the Steelers own the league’s No. 1 ranked scoring defense at 14.5 points allowed per game.
The Steelers are 9-1 against the spread in their last 10 playoff games.
