The Pittsburgh Steelers managed to go 3-1 without quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. Now, it's time to see how they'll do with him. NFL odds makers expect Big Ben's first start of the season to result in a convincing victory, listing the Steelers as a 14-point favorite with the total set at 37.

Having had a bye week to get all those extra first team snaps, Roethlisberger should enter Sunday's contest more prepared than he would be otherwise. He's also not going to complain about getting the Cleveland Browns in his debut.

Since Roethlisberger came into the league in 2004, Pittsburgh is 11-1 against Cleveland, including a perfect 6-0 at home. It is also worth noting that those six home wins have come by an average of 15.2 points.

It is also good news that Big Ben won't be expected to carry the load, as he was most of the time last year. Pittsburgh has a strong running game and dominant defense to help take some of the pressure off of him.

The Pittsburgh defense looks a lot like the unit that helped carry the Steelers to the Super Bowl a couple seasons ago. The Steelers rank fourth in total defense, allowing 289.0 yards per game, and first in scoring defense, surrendering only 12.5 points per game. They have been especially stout against the run, allowing only 62.2 yards on the ground to boast the league's best run-stuffing unit.

Led by running back Rashard Mendenhall, Pittsburgh ranks eighth in rushing offense with 133.5 yards per game. Mendenhall ranks seventh in the league is rushing with 411 yards despite playing only four games.

Pittsburgh loss to Baltimore in its last game also sets up an extremely profitable situation. In fact, Pittsburgh is 13-2 against the number in its last 15 home games following an upset loss to a division rival.

Cleveland won 13-6 as a 10-point underdog at home in the most recent meeting between these two teams. In that game, the Browns torched the Pittsburgh defense for 171 yards on the ground. However, an encore performance doesn't appear likely against the league's best run defense, especially with Peyton Hillis battling a quad injury.

If yards are indeed hard to come by on the ground, the Browns will have to move the football through the air. With both Jake Delhomme and Seneca Wallace currently listed as doubtful, that could be tough to do as well.

Delhomme and Wallace both sustained ankle injuries last week, which means that rookie Colt McCoy will likely make his first NFL start. If McCoy falters, the Browns will have to fall back on Brett Ratliff, who played with Cleveland last season.

Defensively, the Browns could also be in trouble. They gave up 165 yards rushing to Atlanta last week, and they are allowing an average of 120.0 rushing yards per game on the season.

Still, perhaps it can't be ignored that the Steelers are 3-13 against the spread in their last 16 games as a favorite of 10.5 or more points.

Jimmy Boyd is a dominant 10-2 in the NFL the last two weeks. Bet with confidence in Week 6 by seeing who Jimmy is playing first!

 

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