Schedule favoring Steelers
When the NFL schedule was released for this season, people pointed out how tough the Steelers’ schedule appeared to be.
Playing the NFC West and AFC West made things look more difficult than last year’s crossover games against the South divisions of each conference.
The way the season has played out is a nice example of why championships aren’t handed out in May.
That tough NFC West schedule? The Steelers are 3-0 against the NFC West, having beaten Arizona and San Francisco at home and St. Louis on the road.
The Steelers’ schedule was considered the toughest in the NFL based on last year’s records.
Now, heading into the second half of the season, Pittsburgh’s remaining schedule is ranked 26th.
The Steelers have just three teams with winning records remaining on their schedule – Oakland, Cincinnati and Denver. Pittsburgh has played four games against teams with winning records and are 2-2 in those games. If they can go at least 1-2 in their remaining games against winning teams, while also beating the bad teams, the Steelers should still make the playoffs, even without running back Le’Veon Bell.
In the best-case scenario, the one game they need to win is today against the Oakland Raiders.
Only five teams in the AFC have winning records. The entire AFC South is under .500. One of those AFC South teams will make the playoffs, and you can likely pencil in the unbeaten Patriots, Bengals and Broncos. That leaves two wild-card spots up for grabs. Currently, Oakland and the New York Jets, both at 4-3, hold those positions.
That’s why the Steelers need to beat the Raiders. The first tiebreaker would be a head-to-head matchup and the Steelers can take care of that today. It won’t be easy, though. The Raiders are playing good football, especially on offense.
Second-year quarterback Derek Carr has thrown 15 touchdown passes against three interceptions in his past six games Rookie wide receiver Amari Cooper and veteran Michael Crabtree are dangerous deep threats.
The Steelers are allowing 17.5 points per game at home, more than good enough to win most games, especially now that quarterback Ben Roethlisberger is back. One player to watch is tight end Heath Miller, who is coming off the second 10-catch game of his career. Oakland has allowed eight touchdown passes to tight ends, the most in the NFL.
And then there is this: Oakland is 2-8 in its last 10 games played at 1 p.m. in the Eastern time zone.
The Steelers are 4 1/2-point favorites. Though it won’t be easy, they should win and cover.
Take the Steelers, 27-20
Green Bay was embarrassed at Denver last week as Aaron Rodgers was held to less than 100 passing yards. That won’t happen again.
Take Green Bay, 24-20
Washington is 3-1 at home, 0-3 on the road.
Take New England, 37-16
Peyton Manning heads back to Indianapolis, where Lucas Oil Stadium is referred to as “The House that Manning Built.”
Take Denver, 27-17
Dallas is now 0-5 without quarterback Tony Romo. The Eagles are 1-3 on the road.
Take Dallas, 23-21
Todd Gurley vs. Adrian Peterson. People who like to watch good running backs will enjoy this one.
Take Minnesota, 20-17
Tyrod Taylor is expected to be back for the Bills, who beat the Dolphins in Miami, 41-14.
Take Buffalo, 30-21
The Giants lead the NFL in turnover ratio at plus-11. Tampa Bay quarterback Jameis Winston has thrown seven interceptions.
Take the Giants, 38-31
The Bears should be able to run the ball even without injured Matt Forte.
Take Chicago to cover in a 24-21 loss
Blaine Gabbert? Really? Gabbert, who replaces Colin Kaepernick at quarter for the 49ers, has a 5-22 record as a starter.
Take Atlanta, 24-13
The Jets should be ticked off after last week’s beating at Oakland.
Take the Jets, 23-13
New coach, same results for Tennessee, though Marcus Mariota is expected back.
Take New Orleans, 33-17
Last Week: 6-6-1 ATS; 10-3 Straight up
Overall: 60-49-4 ATS; 79-33 Straight up
F. Dale Lolley can be reached at dlolley@observer-reporter.com.