Pittsburgh Steelers @ San Francisco 49ers Mon. Dec. 19, 2011 8:30 p.m. EST
Last season the Pittsburgh Steelers were arguably the best team in the AFC Conference as they were able to dominate the competition in playoffs and make it all the way back to the Super Bowl for the third time in the Ben Roethlisberger era. With Mike Tomlin proving his is once again the right man for the job on the sidelines and the Steelers defense living up to the hype, Pittsburgh was able to make an inspired run on their way to what was supposed to be their seventh Super Bowl title in franchise history.
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Unfortunately, things didn’t work out the way the storied NFL franchise had planned and they ultimately fell to a much better Green Bay Packers squad led by Super Bowl MVP quarterback Aaron Rodgers. With the loss to the Packers still fresh in the minds of the Steelers’ players, Pittsburgh was on a mission this season despite being labeled old and potentially passed their prime.
Even though the Pittsburgh Steelers have struggled at times this season and were dominated by the arch division rival Baltimore Ravens in both head-to-head matchups this season, Mike Tomlin’s squad has a 10-3 record heading into Week 15 of the NFL regular season. The winning the AFC North division title might be a stretch at this point in time with the Ravens on the verge of clinching the division, but the Steelers seem to have one of the two spots in the AFC Wild Card locked up.
In Week 15, the Pittsburgh Steelers will face arguably their toughest test of the last three games of the regular season in the form of Jim Harbaugh’s San Francisco 49ers. Even though the 49ers are coming off a loss to the lowly Arizona Cardinals in Week 14, San Francisco is without a doubt one of the best teams in the NFL this season and will be looking to bounce back with a vengeance this week against one of the toughest opponents on their remaining schedule.
Fortunately, the 49ers will have the advantage of going up against the Steelers in Week 15 as Pittsburgh will almost certainly be without superstar quarterback Ben Roethlisberger due to a leg injury he sustained in the win over the division rival Cleveland Browns last week. With Big Ben most likely watching from the sidelines, the Steelers will have trouble on offense and might not be able to contend with the likes of the 49ers’ lockdown defense led by linebacker Patrick Willis.
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Not only will this game be played on the 49ers’ home field in San Francisco, but even if Big Ben was healthy this would be a matchup that Jim Harbaugh’s squad could win. The Steelers may still be one of the best teams in the league, but they will most likely be on the losing side on Monday Night Football this week.
As of right now, the San Francisco 49ers has been given the edge in this matchup with a -3 point spread. That sounds just about right to me.
Take the 49ers at -3.
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