NFL GAME ODDS

Pittsburgh Steelers vs Oakland Raiders

Pittsburg travels to the west coast this week to face the Oakland Raiders on hostile turf. The defending Super Bowl Champs come into Oakland desperately needing a win to stay in any sort of position to contend for an AFC playoff bid. For the 1-5 Raiders the season has had little upside when the arrival of Aaron Brooks and return of Art Shell were supposed to breathe new life. This week will show which team is still hungry. With another loss spelling the end of a team's serious ideas of contention, there will be no lack of tenacity.

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It looks as though the Steelers will have Ben Roethlisberger at QB this weekend. Unfortunately, this has not often been the magical formula for Pittsburg. The backup Charlie Batch has actually accounted for more points this year. The trial for Pittsburg will be controlling the clock. That means Willie Parker has to have a good day on the ground and improve on his sub six yard per carry average.

If the Buccaneers can keep the game close, they know they have a closer in kicker Matt Bryant. Bryant was true on a 62 yard strike to win the game last week and was later honored by the Tampa mayor with his own "week" in the city. Look for the lesser known Barber (Ronde) to be pumped up for this game. Tiki may have announced his retirement early, but Ronde would love to play spoiler to the MVP candidate's farewell tour. Much like last week the Tampa defense will be key their ability to keep the score manageable. If they can take advantage of chances for point that the Giants will inevitably offer, John Gruden's team should make a game of it.

The Raiders have been a calamity of a team this season. RB Lamont Jordan, who was touted as a top 10 back in the league in the preseason, has been a huge disappointment. QB Aaron Brooks is no longer the starter, both starting wide receivers have asked for trades and ownership seems powerless to do anything about it. But, then it happened, they won. Yes the Raiders got off the shnide last week and the locker room is alive again. With the possibility of Joey Porter returning to the field from suspension adds another down the field target for QB Andrew Walter. Watch for the Steelers to be out hustled and have a hard time leaving the angry bay with a victory.

Game Oakland +9