Ravens vs. Steelers Free Pick
Pittsburgh, PA (The Spread) – In what should be the most physical matchup of the weekend, the Pittsburgh Steelers will host the Baltimore Ravens in the 2011 NFL Divisional Round Playoffs this Saturday. Continue reading for picks, odds and trends on this AFC North clash.
View Current NFL Divisional Round Playoff Odds
According to oddsmakers from online sports book SBGGLOBAL.com, the Steelers are 3-point favorites over the Ravens this Saturday. The over/under total for this game is currently 37 points.
The Ravens improved to 13-4 on the season with their Wildcard win over the Chiefs last Sunday. They also covered as a 3-point favorite and are now 9-7-1 against the spread this season according to latest NFL trends. They’re 6-3 straight up on the road this year, where they covered in six of their nine games with one push.
The Steelers had last week off thanks to earning the No. 2 seed in the AFC. They’re 12-4 straight up this season and covered in 10 of their 16 games. They’re also 5-3 at home this year, where they covered in five of those eight games.
The under is 10-7 in the Ravens’ 17 games this season, while its 9-7 in the Steelers’ 16 contest. The under is also 6-3 in Baltimore’s nine road games and 5-3 in Pittsburgh’s eight home games.
NFL Divisional Playoff Free Pick:
This is about an even a matchup as you’ll find in the NFL. Both teams know each other extremely well and neither will be able to throw something at the other in order to confuse them. This game will come down to which team executes and which one doesn’t make costly mistakes in the second half. With that in mind, the side doesn’t offer any value. It’s probably a field-goal game either way, which is why the line is set the way it is. There isn’t much value in the total either, because this presumably will be a field goal fest. But we recommend taking a harder look at the trends and bucking the conventional thinking as it pertains to this game. The over is 5-1-1 in the last seven meetings between these two teams in Pittsburgh. It fell under this season, but Ben Roethlisberger was still serving his suspension so he didn’t play. The over is also 9-1 in the Steelers’ last 10 playoff home games and 18-3 in their last 16 playoff games. Those are staggering numbers. Both defenses are playing at the top of their game but both can force turnovers as well, which may lead to great field position. Both teams also have homerun hitters in Mike Wallace, Ray Rice and Anquan Boldin. The best support for taking the over may be the fact that if neither team can run, expect both squads to put the ball in the air in the second half (especially the Steelers). Our pick is the over 37.
2011 NFL DIVISIONAL PLAYOFF FREE PICK: RAVENS/STEELERS OVER 37
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