Pittsburgh Steelers at Denver Broncos (+3, 40)
Monday night lights
The Steelers (5-2 SU, 2-5 ATS) enter this riding a four-game winning streak and have had two weeks to prepare for Denver following their bye. The Broncos (6-1 straight up and against the spread) are coming off their first loss of the season, a 30-7 pasting at the hands of the Baltimore Ravens.
The Steelers have recovered nicely from their 1-2 start and are tied atop the AFC North standings with the Cincinnati Bengals. They handed the Vikings their first loss of the season two weeks ago.
"We've put ourselves in a good position to go into this bye, but November, December, that's where the real teams start to separate themselves," Steelers defensive end Brett Keisel told the Associated Press. "Hopefully, if we're a real team around here, we can continue this win streak."
The Broncos defense, a key factor in the team’s undefeated start, is coming off its worse performance of the season. Denver is third in rushing defense with 86.1 yards a game, but gave up a season-high 125 to the Ravens.
"Anytime you have a game like this, it forces you to look in a mirror," Broncos’ head coach Josh McDaniel said. "Hopefully we can find out just as much about one another ... through the adversity of a loss as you can through six wins."
Law Dog
Defensive back Ty Law came out of “semi-retirement” this week and signed with the Broncos. The five-time Pro Bowler said he is expecting to contribute in the Broncos nickel package this week.
“They’re trying to get me ready to play this week in a limited fashion,” Law told ESPN.com. “I did it last year.”
Law joined the Jets at the midway point of last season.
Law and the rest of the Broncos defensive backfield, which now features five players over 30 years old (Champ Bailey, Andre Goodman, Renaldo Hill and Brian Dawkins are the others), will be facing a Steelers’ receiving group that features three players averaging over 14 yards a catch.
“I’m just going to kind of wing it and go out and do the best I can,” Law said. “But right now they’re just shoving a lot down my throat because the terminology is totally different.”
Injuries
The Steelers defense, which hasn’t allowed a 100-yard rusher in its last 25 regular season contests and leads the league in rushing defense at 76.6 yards a game, is expected to be without three starters this week: defensive end Travis Kirschke, linebacker Lawrence Timmons and safety Ryan Clark.
The Broncos come into this virtually at full strength, though third-year right tackle Ryan Harris is not expected to play because of a toe injury. He will be replaced by Tyler Polumbus, who will be making his first NFL start.
"We always give (Tyler) plenty of reps in practice. He handled himself well in the preseason," Broncos first-year coach Josh McDaniels said. "We'll expect him to go in there and play well."
Line movement
The Steelers opened as 3-point road favorites. The line currently sits anywhere from +1 to +4.5 depending on where you look. The total opened at 39 and has been moved to 40 virtually everywhere.
Weather
The forecast in Denver calls for mostly clear skies with temperatures in the mid-40s. Winds will be coming from the southwest at seven mph.
Trends
The Steelers are 8-2 ATS vs. teams with a winning record and 1-5 ATS in their last six games following a win. They’re also 0-5 ATS in their last five road games
The Broncos are 6-1 ATS in their last seven games overall and 4-0 ATS in their last four games as a home underdog. Denver is 4-1 ATS in its last five games vs. teams with a winning record.
The over is 4-1 in the Steelers’ last five games overall.
The under is 8-1 in the Broncos’ last nine home games and 6-1 in the Broncos’ last seven games overall.
Head to head: The over is 5-1 in the last six meetings while the underdog is 4-0 in the last four meetings. The road team is 4-1 ATS in the last five meetings