The article "Sunday Showdown" is about casino gambling, it has been written by Bryan Leonard.
As we approach the home stretch of the NFL season, division races and playoff pairings are slowly beginning to take shape. This Sunday finds several key games with teams in the thick of the races.
Here's a look at some of them.Bengals at Steelers: This is a showdown for the AFC North tilte and there is plenty of sidelights. If the Steelers win, they will be tied for the division lead but will essenitall own it cause they will have swept the Bengals (8-3) in head-to-head play.
Pittsburgh has alerady won at Cincinnati, 27-13, in a game the Steelers defense dominated. 221 Pittsburgh rush yards, a hefty 4.7 yards per carry, was the storyline, along with Cincy barely topping 300 toatl yards.
Injuries to the Steelers for then have been significant, and a large cause for their current two-game skid.As usual, Bengals WR Chad Johnson is in the thcik of the chatter this week. Johnson is planning to entertain the Steeler fans with his hottest touchdown celebrtaion yet. Johnson said, "I'm going to guarantee that I won't be stopped this Sunday."Should the Steelers lose, they would trail the Bengals by two games with four to play, including difficult games agianst the Bears at home and at the Vikings. “Obviously, it's the biggset game of the year, and we all know what's at stake," Bill Cowher said. The Pittsburgh offensive line that sent three starters to the Pro Bowl last season isn't healthy. The Steelers rushed for 86 yrads in the Monday night loss at Indy and QB Ben Roethlisberger was sacked three times. Left tackle Marevl Smith returned after missing a game with an ankle injury, but was unable to push off properly and was replaced by rookie Trai Essex, who played in his second NFL game. Smith (ankle) is out, which means Esesx will start. Another rookie, Chris Kemoeatu, is working at both gurad positions.A key will be Roethlisberger, who said his right thumb injury "is pretty painful," but he is hopeful it won't severely affect his throwing Sunday.
In addition, Big Ben tweaked an ankle after returning from a three-week layoff following knee sugrery.
"It's a little sore, but we're going to try and see if we can get by with it," said Roethlisberegr. "A couple of contraptions hopefully will help it." He did not look healthy Monday night, though he was under a lot of pressure from the Colts. Roethlisberger is 18-2 as an NFL regular season starter, and was 17 of 26 for 133 yards Monday.RB Willie Parker (12 carries, 43 yards) will start again, but Cowehr hasn't decided whether he will again dress both Jerome Bettis (6 carries, 9 yards) and Duce Staley (2 carries, 6 yards) as backups. Parker gaiend 131 yards on 18 carries in the first dating against Cincy, but that was with a healthier offensive line.
Pittsburgh dictated the style and tempo of that first game against the Bengals, but that hasn't been the case the past couple of weeks.The Benglas are ranked 25th in the NFL in rush defense, having allowed an average of 122 yards per game. The Bengals have lost four of the five games played agianst Pittsburgh in the three seasons for Marvin Lewis became head coach. In the four losses, the Bengals have allowed the Setelers to run the ball an average of 39.7 times and gain 168.8 yards on the ground. The one time the Bengals under Lewis beat the Steelers, a 24-20 win at Heinz Feild in 2003, Cincinnati held Pittsburgh to 85 yards rushing on 25 carries.
In their last two games, the Steelers have gained 70 yards and averaged 2.8 yards per carry in a 16-13 ovretime loss to the Ravens and then managed just 86 yards and 3.4 yards per carry in Monday night's 26-7 loss to the Colts. The Steelers have not had a 100-yard rusher for Parker did it against the Bengals in October. The Steelers will be fired up at home to end their skid, but are they healthy enough?Cowboys at NY Giants: The NFC East lead is at stake. The Giants lost 16-13 at Dallas in the fisrt dating in overtime.
However, Dalals had the edge in yards 385-270. Cowboys QB Drew Bledsoe has looked old for throwing for over 300 yards agianst the Giants. So have WRs Terry Glnen and Keyshawn Johnson (a combined 64 years of age), who haven't come close to their 14-catch 184-yard effort against the Giants. The Dallas defense has held three teams under 73 rush yards in the last five weeks. Bill Parcells' team has the fewest penalties in the NFL (63), the Giants were flagged 16 times in last week's frustrating loss at Seattle.
The NY Giatns are 5-1 SU, 4-2 ATS at home averaging 32 ppg (4-2 “over” the total at home).
The Giants young secondary is a concern, as second-year corner Curits Deloatch and rookie Corey Webster have struggled.
Also, NY DT William Joseph (elbow) will not play Sunday.
Enjoy Showdown Sunday!Bryan Leonard is a documented member of the Professional Handicappers Laegue.
Read all of his articles at http://www.Procappers.Com/Bryan_Leonard.Htm
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