i think this should be an easy win. I really do. Arizona's defense is not good and their offense is a bit limited. But this is a game vs a bad team on the road on the west coast. I usually don't put much stock in those kind of "trend" stats, but Tomlin has laid way too many eggs vs bad teams, particularly out west.
That does have to give you pause but I don't think that will be an issue. I think the bad team letdowns have been due to overconfidence and suspect defense. For years, the steelers have been carried by the offense and mostly the passing game. A big play passing game. They were like a baseball team that relies on Home Runs. You win a lot of games but will also lose a few just on a bad day.
I don't see overconfidence as an issue with this team. It better not be! I mean how ridiculous would it be for this team, still on the cusp of the playoffs, a team that has held together through near insurmountable obstacles, to all of a sudden look past an opponent?
This defense is for real. A good defensive team is less prone to letdowns.
My issue now is that this team comes out with the wrong gameplan pretty much every week. On both offense and defense, it's like the 1st quarter is a preseason game. If Fichtner is scripting plays, then he's terrible at it. It's good that he seems to adjust his playcalling but they can't afford to just give away huge stretches of games while they figure it out.
I'm thinking slow start, as usual, but steelers defense mostly shuts down Arizona and the run game with Snell wears them down ans opens up a few big play opportunities.
Steelers 23
Cardinals 13