The Pittsburgh Steelers have a big injury problem with quarterback Big Ben when they visit the San Francisco 49ers on Monday Night Football.
ESPN will have the usual primetime coverage at 8:30 p.m. (ET) from Candlestick Park. This interconference clash of elite teams is a sigh of relief for network executives who were stuck with San Diego at Jacksonville and St. Louis at Seattle the last two weeks.
Ben Roethlisberger certainly lived up to his moniker last Thursday night versus Cleveland, spraining his ankle in the second quarter, but coming back to lead the team to victory with a noticeable limp. The 14-3 final didn’t cover the large 14-point road spread.
The latest information had Roethlisberger still in a walking boot on Tuesday and not attending practice. He’s been diagnosed with a Grade I sprain, which is the least severe and he’s listed as questionable with the 10 full days of rest between games. Charlie Batch is the backup.
Pittsburgh center Maurkice Pouncey is also questionable with an ankle sprain. Pass rusher James Harrison has been suspended after a helmet-to-helmet hit on the Browns’ Colt McCoy and is expected out as his expedited appeal will surely be denied. The other outside linebacker, LaMarr Woodley, is questionable after missing last game with a hamstring injury.
The pointspread and total are currently off the board at Don Best pending these developments, specifically Roethlisberger.
The Steelers (10-3 SU, 6-7 ATS) are tied with Baltimore for first place in the AFC North, but would lose the tiebreaker after a Ravens season sweep. That’s the difference between possible home field advantage throughout the AFC and a wild card.
Coach Mike Tomlin’s guys have done their best to put the pressure on, winning four straight (2-2 ATS) since losing at home to Baltimore (23-20) on November 6. The defense has been excellent the last three, allowing a measly 6.3 PPG, with the ‘under’ 3-0 in that span.
Pittsburgh is second in the NFL in scoring defense (15.2 PPG), ironically only trailing San Francisco (14 PPG).
The 49ers (10-3 SU, 10-2-1 ATS) have been one of the NFL’s surprise teams, already wrapping up the non-challenging NFC West. The clinching of the division may have come a bit too soon as the first game after was a 21-19 loss at Arizona last Sunday.
The 40 combined points scored just snuck ‘over’ the 39-point total. The ‘under’ was 6-1 in San Fran’s prior seven games.
Coach Jim Harbaugh lost in the desert despite possessing a 19-7 third-quarter lead and going against backup quarterback John Skelton. That’s a game the 49ers would have won earlier this year and they’re now 1-2 SU and ATS in the last three after starting 9-1 SU and 9-0-1 ATS.
The 49ers still have a ton to play for in fighting New Orleans for the No. 2 seed. The winner gets a bye and they certainly don’t want to have a playoff game in the Bayou where the Saints potent offense is akin to an NBA fast break.
The big question this week is the play of quarterback Alex Smith. He’s had a very good year under Harbaugh’s tutelage, but got sacked five times last week. He has a QB rating under 63 the last two road games, also losing at Baltimore 16-6 on Thanksgiving night and getting sacked nine times.
San Fran is a terrific 6-1 SU (6-0-1 ATS) at home and Smith’s rating is 102.1 there (81.1 away). Fans are praying that the ‘bad Smith’ doesn’t suddenly up at Candlestick on Monday night. The potential loss of Harrison and Woodley would help, although the 49ers could be without left tackle Joe Staley, questionable with a head injury.
Harbaugh desperately needs to run the ball Monday with Frank Gore to take the pressure off Smith. Conversely, Pittsburgh needs to feature Rashard Mendenhall with Roethlisberger less than 100 percent even if he plays.
Running won’t be easy as these are two of the top rushing defenses, although Pittsburgh could catch a break if Niners All-Pro linebacker Patrick Willis (questionable with a hamstring injury) is out. He missed last game.
These are two of the premiere franchises as Pittsburgh owns six Super Bowl titles and San Francisco five. They last met in 2007 with Pittsburgh winning 37-16 at home. The ‘over’ is 4-1 in the last meetings.
Weather should be very nice in the Bay Area, clear and likely in the low 50s, high 40s.