Raise your hand if you thought the Pittsburgh Steelers could start the season 2-0 against the NFL odds without starting quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. There were probably not many hands that went up. The Steelers have won two low scoring games against the NFL betting odds and now they have a chance to start 3-0 as they visit Tampa Bay this week.
The Steelers will get Big Ben back after two more games. The Steelers have a bye after their game against Baltimore in two weeks. The Steelers will need Roethlisberger because they are not getting much out of their current quarterbacks. It has not mattered though because their defense has been great.
Dixon Hurt – The Steelers were down to one quarterback on Sunday against
Tennessee but it didn’t matter. Dennis Dixon hurt his knee early in the game and did not return so Charlie Batch got the rest of the snaps. The Steelers had released Byron Leftwich but they plan to re-sign him on Monday. It was some sort of a roster situation that they thought would benefit them. It could have cost them if Batch had gotten hurt as there would not have been anyone left to come in. The way Pittsburgh’s defense has played it really doesn’t matter though.
Defense Unreal – The Steelers defense has been unbelievable so far this season. They forced seven turnovers in the 19-11 win against the NFL betting odds over Tennessee. Pittsburgh’s offense did nothing but the Steelers got an 89-yard kick return for a TD and that was enough. Pittsburgh was actually outgained 238-127. Kicker Jeff Reed kicked four field goals as the defense set the Steelers offense up in good position. Pittsburgh’s defense was so good that they stopped Tennessee running back Chris Johnson’s 100-yard rushing streak at 12 straight games. They held him to 34 yards. The Steelers defense forced Tennessee to replace quarterback Vince Young with Kerry Collins. The Steelers intercepted Young twice, forced him to fumble and sacked him twice.
Super Bowl Contenders – If you didn’t think that the Steelers were Super Bowl contenders in NFL odds at the Sbg sportsbook you may want to rethink that position. Pittsburgh is 2-0 and if they win one of their next two they would be 3-1 with Roethlisberger coming back.