The New Orleans Saints and Pittsburgh Steelers could not be in more contrasting situations with respect to their divisions. Despite an abysmal 4-7 record, the New Orleans Saints are still technically leading the NFC South, which is making a strong case as one of the worst divisions ever. Meanwhile, the 7-4 Steelers are in a three-way tie for second- (or last-) place in the ultra-competitive AFC North.
But even with their differing fortunes, they both have the same goal, which is to win in order to keep their playoff destiny in their own hands. Between Super Bowl-winning quarterbacks Drew Brees and Ben Roethlisberger, who leads his team to a vital victory? Read on for a full preview below.
Speaking of Super Bowl-winning quarterbacks, Aaron Rodgers and Tom Brady meet for the very first time. Get fully informed about that heavyweight matchup with our Patriots vs. Packers preview.
[sc:Football ]New Orleans Saints vs. Pittsburgh Steelers Betting Preview and Prediction
Where: Heinz Field, Pittsburgh
When: Sunday, November 30, 8:30 PM ET
Line: New Orleans Saints (+4) at Pittsburgh Steelers (-4); total 53.5 – see all NFL lines
Betting on the New Orleans Saints
The New Orleans Saints’ disappointing season just got so much worse after they dropped to 4-7 with a 34-27 loss to the Baltimore Ravens, their third-straight defeat in the once-formidable Superdome.
[sc:NFL240banner ]It was the same old story for the Saints, who just couldn’t stop the run during their three-game home stand. After giving up 144 rushing yards to the 49ers and 186 to the Bengals, they surrendered a season-high 215 yards and two touchdowns on the ground to the Ravens.
Meanwhile, Joe Flacco was the second-straight quarterback to complete over 70 percent of his passes against a feeble Saints pass rush and a substandard secondary.
The Saints offense did show signs of life against Baltimore, with Drew Brees passing for a season-high 420 yards and three touchdowns. But aside from a 67-yard run by Joe Morgan, the Saints could only muster three yards per carry against the Ravens defense.
Three of the four teams that have beaten Pittsburgh this season – the Ravens, Browns and Jets – did so using a similar strategy, which is to get up to an early lead and hold onto it by running the ball well against a suspect Steelers front seven.
The Saints are more than capable of following that blueprint against the Steelers. Brees still has the offensive weapons to jump out to a quick lead, while Mark Ingram has proven to be quite an effective runner at times. The Saints were the fifth-best rushing team per DVOA through Week 11.
But the Saints’ main stumbling block remains that defense and whether it can prevent Roethlisberger from making big plays of his own. Furthermore, there’s the possibility of Brees committing another costly error. He threw his 11th interception of the season against the Ravens, the third one returned for a touchdown.
The total has gone over in four of the Saints’ five road games this season.
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Betting on the Pittsburgh Steelers
After steamrolling past two possible playoff teams in the Colts and Ravens at home, the Steelers very nearly dropped their next two games on the road against two of the worst teams in the AFC. However, their holy trinity of Ben Roethlisberger, Antonio Brown and Le’Veon Bell were on hand to rescue them from disaster against the Titans.
Bell rushed for a career-high 204 yards and an early fourth-quarter touchdown, which set up Roethlisberger’s connection with Brown for the game-winning score as the Steelers came back from 11 points down to win their fourth game in five outings.
After looking merely mortal away from home, Roethlisberger should welcome a return to the friendly confines of Heinz Field. Big Ben is completing 72.5 percent of his passes at home with an Aaron Rodgers-esque 18-to-1 touchdown-to-interception ratio. He should also very much welcome facing a Saints pass defense ranked a lowly 26th against the pass via DVOA.
New Orleans is an even worse 28th-ranked defense against the run, which is good news for Bell. And to complete the trifecta, the Saints are 27th against No. 1 wide receivers, meaning Brown could also be in for another big day.
The Steelers’ defense, though, can be just as bad as the Saints’ and is ranked in the bottom-third in the league against both the pass and the run. However, reinforcements could yet be arriving as linebacker Ryan Shazier and veteran cornerback are close to returning from their respective injuries.
The total has gone over in all five of the Steelers’ home games this season.
Writer’s Prediction
The Steelers hand the Saints a fourth-straight loss as they win and cover at home. It should also have some offensive fireworks along the way, enough for the total to go over.
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