Steelers by 10

I'd like to thank the guys "On Irish Road" for inviting me to write on their blog. It is always a pleasure to expand my contribution areas and work with new people.

That being said, I'd like to talk about tonight's Monday Night Football game showcasing the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Washington Redskins. The Steelers are coming off a home loss to the defending champion New York "Football" Giants. Ben Roethlisberger and crew are 5-0 against everyone beside the NFC-East; there they are represented by a lousy 0-2 record.

There is no doubt that the NFC-East is the best division in football, but what does that mean to everyone else? For the Steelers, it means that they are still a top team in the league. When you lose tight games to top teams, you can't count it the same as a loss to the Lions (see Irish Road's previous post).

Even with the Steelers' dominant defense, Clinton Portis will most likely break the 1000 yard mark in tonight's game. Portis, who leads the league in rushing, continues to be the dominant back that he has in years past. Despite Portis' impressive play, Jason Campbell will play as tonight's x-factor. The Steelers have a banged up secondary and the mobile Campbell is yet to throw an interception on the year. If the Steelers' D can live up to their reputation, this will be a much tougher game for Campbell than he has seen to this point.

For the Steelers to win, they will need to keep Washington's front seven away from Big Ben. If Pittsburgh can establish the run and adjust to the pass rush, they will win the game. Roethlisberger is extremely affective when throwing to Heath Miller and the Steelers will need to utilize him as a check-down receiver in tonight's game.

Prediction: Steelers 27 - Redskins 17

Gambler: Parlay the Steelers on the money line and over (38). You won't need the points tonight and the payout will be greater for doing so.