Steelers hope to end Patriots perfect season

Dec. 7, 2007 By Rob Gerein

The New England Patriots put their undefeated season on the line when they host the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday.

After blowing out most of its opponents in its first 10 wins, New England has barely scraped by in its past two games, both against teams with losing records.

Bet the Steelers-Patriots game at Sportsbook, which has the Patriots as 10½-point favorites and the over/under at 48.

Pittsburgh is 9-3 SU and 7-5 ATS and has won two straight games. New England is 12-0 SU and 9-3 ATS and has won 12 straight.

New England has a 6-4 SU edge in the past 10 meetings with the Steelers, and is 6-1 ATS in the past seven games head-to-head. The teams last met on Sept. 25, 2005, when New England downed Pittsburgh 23-20 on the road.

Last Sunday, the Steelers defeated Cincinnati 24-10 as a 7-point favorite, with the score under the over/under total of 40½. Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger threw for 184 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions and also ran in for a score for Pittsburgh, while Hines Ward caught 11 passes for 90 yards with two touchdowns in the win.

Patriots pivot Tom Brady threw a game-winning touchdown with 44 seconds last Monday, as the Patriots narrowly escaped their first loss of the season, getting past the Baltimore Ravens 27-24. The Patriots couldn’t cover the 18½-point spread, and the 51 points were over the total of 46½.

The previous Sunday, New England needed some last-minute heroics against the Philadelphia Eagles to squeak out a 31-18 win at home. 
 
Some recent trends for Pittsburgh: 8-2 SU in December; 6-4 SU when playing on turf; 6-4 SU after outgaining opponent; and 7-3 SU when playing outside the division.

Some recent trends for New England: 9-1 SU in December; 10-0 when playing on turf; 7-3 SU after being outgained; and 9-1 SU when playing outside the division.

The over is 5-0 in the past five games between Pittsburgh and New England, but the under is 4-2 in Pittsburgh's past six overall and past six on the road.

The over is 5-0 in New England's past five games at home.

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