OC Dooley
Oakland Raiders +2.5
One of the keys to this contest surrounds the fact that Oakland has had the benefit of a bye-week to prepare while Pittsburgh is coming off a very physical “divisional” battle and are now forced to fly out west. The extra-time has given Raiders center Stefen Wisnniewski and tackle Tony Pashos time to recover from injuries along with star rusher Darren McFadden who will have a bolstered offensive line to run behind. The mere location of this contest is critical to Oakland quarterback Terrelle Pryor who has performed better in front of the HOME fans where his completion percentage (70.2) and overall rating (105.5) have been exceptional. For those who have access to this late afternoon affair keep an eye out for Denarius Moore who has 20 different pass receptions in the past four games combined. It is easy to see why Pittsburgh has been installed as a road favorite despite having an identical record (2-4) as the opposition. In the last pair of outings which were victories the Steelers defense has allowed just ONE touchdown. But despite last Sunday’s very “physical” divisional triumph versus Baltimore who is a defending Super Bowl champion, the Steelers went yet another game WITHOUT a takeaway. In six games this campaign Pittsburgh has forced only a pair of takeaways, while the team has a very low NFL ranking of #29 by “committing” 12 turnovers which gives this particular squad a MINUS-TEN differential. In the past two weeks the Steelers offense has been held below the twenty-point benchmark and they have only six overall touchdowns in 16 different trips inside the red-zone. With Mike Tomlin as head coach the team is a poor 6-17 ATS when off consecutive very low scoring games that held below the total. In the past three years versus AFC West competition, Pittsburgh shockingly has been a disaster (0-6 ATS) where it counts