11/20/2008 - Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ben Roethlisberger didn't let a bitter, snowy night bother his throwing or running, totaling 243 yards passing with a passing and rushing touchdown, as Pittsburgh methodically wore down Cincinnati, 27-10, at Heinz Field.
Roethlisberger completed 17-of-30 passes, with five of those passes going to Santonio Holmes, who was shaken up on a a helmet-to-helmet hit and did not return after amassing 84 receiving yards.
Willie Parker found little running room with 37 yards on 14 carries, but Mewelde Moore had more success with 56 yards on 15 carries to go along with four catches for 41 yards. Heath Miller caught four passes for 44 yards and a score for the Steelers (8-3), who won their fifth straight in the series for the first time since 1993.
Pittsburgh now leads the AFC North by 1 1/2 games over Baltimore, which plays Philadelphia on Sunday.
"It is what is," Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin said about his team's position in the division and AFC playoff picture. "We are not over-evaluating at this point. We are living week to week. As long as we continue to live in a tunnel, we will be fine."
Ryan Fitzpatrick completed 20-of-37 passes for 168 yards with one touchdown and one interception in defeat. Cedric Benson ran for 35 yards and Glenn Holt caught a touchdown pass for the Bengals (1-9-1), who played without star wideout Chad Johnson, who was suspended earlier in the day Thursday for violating team rules.
"We need to be able to run the football more effectively. We need to be able to convert. It's disappointing," stated Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis.
After a late game in the snow last Sunday, it took awhile for the Steelers to get into game action on a early winter night at half-full Heinz Field.
After two Pittsburgh punts and one on the Bengals side, Cincinnati marched down the field to take the lead. Third down conversions were the key, as the Bengals were successful on three third downs, including the 10-yard slant for a score from Fitzpatrick to the little-used kick returner Holt.
Each team punted before the Steelers offense finally gained traction in the light snow. Roethlisberger found his tight end Miller on a hot read for 14 yards and zipped a strike across the middle to Hines Ward, who weaved his way across the field for 37 yards to the Bengals 13-yard line. Later in the march, Roethlisberger's eight-yard pass to rookie Limas Sweed ended a yard short of the marker. Mike Tomlin rolled the dice, and Gary Russell's second effort picked up the first down. The gamble proved genius as Roethlisberger located Miller in the flat for a three-yard score and a tie game.
Pittsburgh then rode Jeff Reed's right leg to the lead. A 27-yard strike followed by a 22-yard dart to Holmes highlighted a march that ended with Reed's 37-yard field goal.
The Steelers defense stiffened late in the half after a Bengals punt hit off the hand of Sweed, giving Cincinnati the football inside the Pittsburgh 40-yard line. It didn't manage any points, however, before intermission.
Reed's second field goal of the game, a 38-yard boot that hugged the right upright, pushed the lead to 13-7 in the third quarter. Roethlisberger's 19- yard third-down conversion to Holmes was the big play on the possession.
The Steelers added a little more cushion to their edge late in the third stanza. The seven-play march included plenty of Moore, who ran for five and 15 yards before taking a screen pass 22 yards down the right sideline. Roethlisberger's 19-yard pass to Miller preceded Russell's two-yard touchdown walk into the end zone out wide to the right.
During the fourth quarter, Cincinnati put together an 11-play marathon that knocked on the doorstep of the Steelers end zone before stalling inside the 10-yard line. Fitzpatrick's 15-yard completion to Andre Caldwell kick started a drive that ended with Shayne Graham's 26-yard field goal.
Roethlisberger converted a big 3rd-and-10 on the next series, breaking out of a would-be sack deep in the backfield, slipping to the left and firing across his body to Sweed for 17 yards. Moore then handled the bulk of the work until Roethlisberger barreled his way into the end zone from eight yards out for a 27-10 edge with 2:22 to go.
Game Notes
Troy Polamalu's fifth interception of the season ended a late fourth- quarter Bengals drive into the Steelers red zone...LaMarr Woodley registered the lone Pittsburgh sack...Chris Kirkpatrick, of N'Sync fame and a Pennsylvania native, sang the national anthem...The Bengals converted just 4- of-15 third downs, while Pittsburgh was successful on 6-of-14 third-down tries...The Steelers outgained the Bengals, 364-208.
<< Gators power past Southern Utah
Gainesville, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Nick Calathes scored 18 points, grabbed
seven rebounds and dished out four assists to lead 18th-ranked Florida over
Southern Utah, 64-50, at the O'Connell Center.
Dan Werner added nine points for the
<< Dwyer leads Georgia Tech past Miami
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jonathan Dwyer rushed for 128 yards and a pair
of touchdowns, and Georgia Tech rolled up 472 yards on the ground in a 41-23
romp of 23rd-ranked Miami-Florida.
Quarterback Josh Nesbitt ran for 93 yards and
<< Kane scores twice as Chicago downs Stars
Dallas, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Patrick Kane scored twice to pace the Blackhawks
to a 6-3 victory over the Dallas Stars as Chicago continued its successful
six-game road trip.
Kris Versteeg had a goal and two assists, while Brian Campbel
<< Rondo, Celtics cruise past Pistons
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rajon Rondo had 18 points and doled out eight
assists to help the Celtics to a 98-80 victory over the Pistons in a rematch
of last season's Eastern Conference Finals.
Kevin Garnett added 15 points in his
MSG shocker! Michigan upsets UCLA >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Manny Harris scored 15 points, hit two big
free throws in the waning seconds and blocked the potential tying shot at the
end as Michigan upset fourth-ranked UCLA, 55-52, to reach the championship
game of
Lakers roll past Suns >>
Phoenix, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kobe Bryant scored 24 points and Lamar Odom
filled the stat sheet with 13 points and nine rebounds off the bench, as the
red-hot Lakers rolled past Phoenix, 105-92.
Vladimir Radmanovic contributed 15 po
Kings cool off Capitals >>
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dustin Brown and Michal Handzus each had a
goal and an assist as the Los Angeles Kings beat Washington, 5-2, handing the
Capitals their first regular loss since November 1.
Drew Doughty, Anze Kopitar an
Four share lead at Hong Kong Open >>
Hong Kong (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Louis Oosthuizen fired an eight-under 62 on
Friday to spotlight a four-way tie for the lead after the second round of the
Hong Kong Open.
Oliver Fisher (65), Chawalit Plaphol (66) and European Ryder Cup
Elite 8 NCAA Tournament Betting at online sportsbook MySportsbook.com
In what should be an outstanding Saturday of March Madness betting action, the top four teams in the South and West Regions square off in what should be extremely close match-ups. Three of the four teams are coming off extremely close games on Thursday evening, only UCLA won semi comfortably over Pitt 64-55.
Ohio State is coming off their second game in a row where in all reality they should have lost. Of course that doesn’t matter now since the name of the game is “survive and advance” but as the tournament continues, they can’t afford to keep getting down to their opponents early. Kansas also avoided a scare by holding off a scrappy Southern Illinois squad. In the third thrilling game of the evening Memphis pulled off the minor upset (+3.5) despite being the higher seed to Texas A&M.
Although the spreads are fairly small for Saturday’s games, MySportsbook.com continue to bet against the underdogs. Despite OSU’s two scares, 86% of the “betting public” feels the Buckeyes (-1.5) have what it takes to make the Final Four. In fact, so much of the early money is on OSU that the line has already moved from -1 to -1.5. In the second game of the doubleheader, Kansas and their high-powered offense are 2 point favorites as they take on UCLA and their effective defense. About 63% of the early money thus far is once again backing the favorites. If those percentages stay that high, don’t be surprised if this line moves as well. If you like Kansas (-2) you might want to jump on it early.
Memphis vs. Ohio State
Both squads were involved in thrillers on Thursday evening and should come out fired up. OSU can ill afford to get behind early like they did versus their previous two opponents (Xavier, Tennessee). Greg Oden needs to stay out of foul trouble; the Buckeyes are a completely different team when he is on the court. Memphis definitely has the athleticism and length to match-up with OSU. Of Memphis’ five leading minute earners, the shortest of the bunch is 6’5”. Each team has a very effective defense; Memphis surrenders 62.3 PPG whereas the Buckeyes give up only 61 PPG. With those type of numbers, it isn’t surprising that Memphis covered the UNDER almost 69% of the time this season. As a favorite, OSU has covered the UNDER almost 66% of the time over the last three seasons. The major concern for Memphis which is magnifies this time of the year is their brutal foul shooting (62%). This season, OSU is 17-11 ATS versus teams with a winning record and 7-2 ATS in all tournament games. Memphis has been an extremely reliable cover in tournament play in recent years with a 23-8 ATS record over the last three seasons.
UCLA vs. Kansas
In the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader, UCLA will play in a role which they are very unfamiliar with that of the underdog. Only twice this season have they been getting points from the handicappers and both times they covered. Over the last three seasons UCLA is a reliable 23-7 ATS in this unfamiliar role. UCLA has not fared well against Big 12 opponents recently going 1-7 ATS since 1997. Giving up only 59.6 PPG, UCLA will definitely look to do what they do best: keep this game as low scoring as possible. Their defense has been especially tough during the tournament. UCLA opponents have been able to muster up only 48.7 PPG while shooting a combined 34.5% from the field. UCLA definitely has a challenge at hand with a Kansas team that is capable of putting points on the board in bunches. As a team, they average 79 PPG and shoot an impressive 49.6% from the field and 39.4% from beyond the arc. During the tournament Kansas has been “lights out” from the field having shot 56.2%.
With Friday -105 juice on Basketball betting, MySportsbook.com is the place to bet on all of the “March Madness” action. Don’t forget to monitor who the public is backing at MySportsbook.com’s “Betting Trends”. By doing so, you have the best chance of predicting a possible line change, thus getting the best value for your wager.
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