The Pittsburgh Steelers, coming off their bye week, will host the New Orleans Saints in a Week 13 matchup with plenty of playoff implications. Now that we are in the final quarter of the season, every game matters, especially for these teams that are right on the bubble in their respective conferences.
With a 7-4 record, the Steelers are currently in third place in the AFC North, which is proving to be the most competitive division in the NFL this season. The Baltimore Ravens and Cleveland Browns also have 7-4 records, while the Cincinnati Bengals lead the division at 7-3-1. I believe this is a must-win for the Steelers who don’t have the easiest schedule remaining.
The Saints have been on a bit of a down-slope recently, losing their last three games, and currently sit at 4-7 on the season. Lucky for them, they are in a division in which every team is struggling. Believe it or not, the Atlanta Falcons are leading the NFC South with the same 4-7 record. This is still a wide open division that any of the four teams could clinch. The Saints must regain momentum in the upcoming weeks to keep their playoff hopes alive.
QB Ben Roethlisberger is having an solid year and currently ranks fifth in the league with 286.9 passing yards per game. And on the other side of the ball, Drew Brees has been even more impressive, averaging 308.8 yards per game. With both of these explosive passing offenses, I foresee this being quite a high-scoring game. I believe both quarterbacks will execute efficiently like we’re used to seeing.
If the Steelers plan on winning this game, I think they will need to rely on Le’Veon Bell in a big way. He will be facing a Saints defense that gave up a staggering 182 yards on the ground to Justin Forsett on Monday night. There are some holes there that Bell will need to exploit in this game. If he continues to dominate like he did in his last game against the Tennessee Titans, breaking the 200-yard mark, I don’t think he will have any problem against this subpar Saints defense.
Final Score Prediction: Steelers 37, Saints 31
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