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| The X Factor: Will Ben play? |
Over the course of the 2011 NFL season, we have seen many amazing stories. The Detroit Lions are relevant for the first time since Barry Sanders was breaking records in Mo-Town. The Green Bay Packers were questing for a perfect season up until running a trap game yesterday in Kansas City. The Philadelphia Eagles - "The Dream Team" - and their roster of Pro Bowl players have failed to live up to lofty preseason expectations. Tim Tebow has become the most talked about man in the free world.
While all of those are deserving of their headline stealing capability, no story in the NFL this season has been bigger than the turnaround of the San Francisco 49ers and their first-year head coach. The last time the 49ers were in the playoffs was 2002, a team led by QB Jeff Garcia and WR Terrell Owens. After spending most of the 80's and 90's as the premiere team in all of football, San Francisco has endured a stretch of eight seasons as one of the whipping boys of the NFC.
Enter Jim Harbaugh. The man who turned around the Stanford Cardinal football program has worked his magic on the professional level, taking a roster of players that finished 6-10 in 2010 and molded them into the NFC West Division champions. At 10-3, the 49ers have already clinched that division title and a playoff spot, all that is left is to secure a top two seed in the NFC Playoffs. With the New Orleans Saints breathing down their backs, San Francisco is in "must-win" territory as much as their Monday Night Football opponents - the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The Steelers are in their usual spot, on the way to the AFC Playoffs and fighting for position in a conference that currently fields four teams with 10 or more wins under their belt. The Steelers have scrapped and fought their way to a 10-3 record and thanks to the Baltimore Ravens no-show performance in San Diego last night, Pittsburgh is one big win away from reclaiming their our destiny in the AFC North. Furthermore, a win tonight would give the Steelers a leg up on the #1 seed and home field advantage throughout the playoffs. Despite losing both games to arch rival Baltimore, the Steelers have a victory over the New England Patriots and thus hold the tiebreaker over the Brady Bunch. With games remaining against Cleveland and St. Louis, the path to the AFC Title will once again go through the Steel City if the Steelers can pull off a win tonight and then run the table against two of the worst teams in football.
The X-Factor of this match-up tonight is the health of QB Ben Roethlisberger. After suffering a dreaded "high-ankle sprain" in the win over Cleveland last Thursday night, Big Ben is still being called a game-time decision to play in this game. Those of us in Pittsburgh know better. Games like this are the reason #7 gets up every morning. Barring any massive pre-game setbacks, the odds of the Steelers heading into battle without their star QB are very slim.
Although the Roethlisberger situation has become the top story for this game, there are other concerns for the Steelers. After sustaining the same high ankle sprain in the Cleveland game, C Maurkice Pouncey is out tonight. He will be replaced by back-up Doug Legursky, leaving a rotation of Trai Essex and Chris Kemoeatu to handle left guard duties. With Roethlisberger essentially playing on one leg, protection will be a major issue against the swarming 49ers defense. Also missing this contest will be OLB James Harrison, who is serving his one-game suspension for scrambling the eggs of Cleveland QB Colt McCoy a week ago. His spot will be taken by back-up Jason Worilds. The Steelers will also be without slot WR Emmanuel Sanders, another injury casualty. Against a team the caliber of San Francisco, head coach Mike Tomlin's mantra of "The standard is the standard" will be put to its most extreme test yet.
The difference between a win and a loss tonight for the Steelers is monumental. A win and they control their own destiny - forcing teams to come to the hostile "Steel City Insane Asylum" in January. A loss, and the Steelers could be looking at a wild card slot and a month long road trip if they plan on making the journey to Indianapolis for the Super Bowl. The 49ers face the same type of scenario, already 2 games behind Green Bay for the top seed in the NFC. Currently a game behind San Francisco is New Orleans, the hottest team in football. A loss tonight would put the Saints on the fast track to the #2 seed, and allow them to play playoff games at home in the Superdome, where they are almost unbeatable.
The Steelers and 49ers both know what is on the line tonight. This is the biggest game the 49ers have played at home in a decade. The difference could come down to experience, the Steelers are battle-tested under pressure, and they have the hardware to prove it. San Francisco has yet to prove they can do the same. Pittsburgh will have their hands full in this contest, but in the end the Steelers will show that they still have the power to punch that Super Bowl ticket.
Pittsburgh Steelers (10-3) at San Francisco 49ers (10-3)
8:30 pm EST, ESPN
Line: 49ers -3
Prediction:
Steelers 17, 49ers 13
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