NFL Football Picks: Sunday Night Football Props (12/5/10)
Last Updated: December 5th, 2010 byFirst place in the AFC North is going to be on the line on Sunday Night Football when the Baltimore Ravens face the Pittsburgh Steelers. You can bet when these two teams meet up with one another that fireworks are going to fly, so don’t miss out on the action! Check out our NFL prop picks for this Sunday Night Football encounter.
Rashard Mendenhall Over/Under 77.5 Rushing Yards
This is going to be one of the more interesting NFL prop picks this weekend, as Mendenhall probably doesn’t match up all that well against the Baltimore defense. However, the Steelers’ top back is in a great situation for this prop because he is probably going to tote the rock at least 20-25 times, if not more, especially considering the fact that QB Ben Roethlisberger is dealing with a broken foot. Mendenhall has carried the ball at least 22 times in three of his last four overall, and if he does that again, he really should be able to get to this type of a total. We have to be careful, because the Steelers’ back does only have five games this year above that number, but we tend to believe that this will be game No. 6. Mendenhall will go Over 77.5 Rushing Yards (-115 at Hollywood Sportsbook) on Sunday Night Football.
Joe Flacco Over/Under 21.5 Completions
“Joe Cool” completed 24 passes the last time that these two teams met, and he is probably going to be called upon quite a few times in this one. The Steelers are just impossible to run against, and Head Coach John Harbaugh isn’t a dummy. Flacco has completed at least 71 percent of his passes in three of his last four games, and he completed 65 percent against the Steelers on the road. Baltimore quite often uses the pass as an extension of the running game, using short passes to RB Ray Rice and flanker screens that are nothing more than long handoffs. This is also going to be the way to get men like LB James Harrison off of Flacco’s back. The deep game will be there, but we don’t believe that the Ravens are going to have the desire to use it all that often. Back Flacco going Over 21.5 Completions (-115 at Hollywood Sportsbook).
Ray Rice Over/Under 100.5 Rushing + Receiving Yards
Rice is the type of running back that can find a way to get his yards in this game, but this is just that tough of a situation that we aren’t so sure about. We know that Rice isn’t going to beat us on the ground in all likelihood, as the Steelers are allowing just 64 rushing yards per game. The man from Rutgers isn’t going to be an exception to that rule, especially in a situation where RB Willis McGahee will take some of his career. If Rice is going to beat us, he’s going to do so in the passing game, and if he is doing that, we are capitalizing on our QB Joe Flacco completions prop. Rice doesn’t often take passes a long way, so we aren’t worried about taking that screen pass 50 yards. When push comes to shove, Rice should stay Under 100.5 Rushing + Receiving Yards (-115 at Hollywood Sportsbook) in this battle against the Steelers.
Ray Lewis Over/Under 8.5 Tackles + Assists
We don’t normally play these types of props, but this seems to be the right time to back a linebacker to go past his total. We know that Lewis is the heart and soul of this defense, and he usually turns it up even one more notch when playing at home, particularly in big time games like this one. With QB Ben Roethlisberger in some trouble with his foot, we’ve already established that RB Rashard Mendenhall is going to get his carries. Pittsburgh usually doesn’t get all that cute, as most of its carries are right up the gut. That’s where Mr. Ray Lewis is waiting, and he usually doesn’t make mistakes. Lewis had nine tackles in that first game, and he should have no problem going Over 8.5 Tackles + Assists (-115 at Hollywood Sportsbook).
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