Steelers 24, Bengals 13

The Steelers exposed the diminished run and pass defense of the Cincinnati Bungles, eh hem, I mean Bengals Sunday, leading to a 24-13 victory. Big Ben opened up their passing game a little more, hitting a returned and rejuvinated Hines Ward for 2 Touchdowns and 88 receiving yards on 8 catches. Ward, who has missed a couple games this season due to a knee injury, looked to be his old self again, that posession/ hard hitting reciever that the black and gold nation has come to love. Roethlisberger made only one mistake throughout the game which was intercepted, but other than that he seemed flawless. Willie Parker controlled the line of scrimmage on the ground, rushing for 126 yards and a score, and earning another nomination for the Fed-Ex Ground Player of the week. ( http://www.nfl.com/partner?partnerType=players-air-and-ground ). You can vote for him there, or Joseph Addai (IND) and Kevin Jones (DET). The Steelers were able to contain the high-powered offense of the Bengals, holding them to only 13 points, which ties a season low (13 against New England). Big Ben is still undefeated in his home state of OHio, improving to 7-0 for his career.

Next week, the Steelers will play one of their most anticipated games, as they face their hated rival, the egotistical, stingy Baltimore Ravens on Monday Night Football on ESPN. Obviousley you can tell my feelings towards the Ravens, as I have become just as disgusted with their fans as much as their football team (aka arrogant fools). Last year, the Steelers were beaten up by a much better Baltimore team in Raven-ville. They sacked Roethlisberger 9 times in that game. This year though, is a whole new year, and things look different for the Steelers. The Ravens are not the team they were last year, and are coming off a loss to one of the worst teams in the league, Buffalo, who the Steelers beat 26-3 earlier in the season. If this game were to be played on a Monday night in Baltimore, I might actually give the Ravens and their semi-brain-dead fans the advantage. However, Heinz Field might be louder than it has ever been before (including the playoffs and Darell Revis' punt return for Pitt against West Virginia last year) when the Steelers run out onto the field in their throwback uniforms under the lights. So, prepare for defense, prepare for some serious smack talk, and prepare for the Steelers to come out on top in this meeting of divisional foes.

Prediction: Steelers 20, Ravens 10

(Don't worry, I will pick against the Steelers this season! I promise!... (Week 14 @ Tom Brady))

NFL Predictions: Week 7

Baltimore @ Buffalo: Ravens
Atlanta @ New Orleans: Saints
Arizona @ Washington: Redskins
San Francisco @ New York Giants: Giants
New England @ Miami: Patriots
Tennessee @ Houston: Texans
Tampa Bay @ Detroit: Lions
Kansas City @ Oakland: Chiefs
New York Jets @ Cincinnati: Bengals
St. Louis @ Seattle: Seahawks
Chicago @ Philadelphia: Eagles
Minnesota @ Dallas: Cowboys
Pittsburgh @ Denver: Steelers
Indianapolis @ Jacksonville: Jaguars (Upset pick)

Players to look out for: Willie Parker/Najeh Davenport and Tom Brady

Week 7 Top 10 NFL Power Rankings (and more)

Team----Record--LW--Reason

1. Patriots--(6-0)----1---Legit. 48 points proves it. Who can stop them?

2. Colts----(5-0)----2---Peyton Manning and Co. are getting the job done. AFC Championship: Pats vs. Colts???

3. Steelers--(4-1)----4---The move up is simply because I think they could compete better with the Pats then the 'Boys did.

4. Cowboys-(5-1)----3---The last 2 games have exposed them, they might not be as good as I thought.

5. Packers--(5-1)----5---A sloppy game Sunday, but they won! And they beat a good NFC team.

6. Jaguars--(4-1)----7---4 wins in a row, and a QB who (still) hasn't had an INT.

7. Giants---(4-2)---NR---After an awful start, the combo of Manning and Plaxico is making sweet sweet music.

8. Ravens--(4-2)----9---Kyle or Steve? That's the question. Thank goodness for Matt (thats right, the kicker!)

9. Chargers-(3-3)---10--First, they came back. Now heeee's baaack! Watchout out for LT, NFL defenses.

10. Bucs---(4-2)---NR---Having a good (yet under the radar) season. Beware of this team.

Dropped out: Titans, Redskins
Look out for: Titans, Redskins, Panthers, Chiefs.

Player of the week: AFC- Tom Brady (NE), NFC-Adrian Peterson (Min)

Prediction Record- Last Week:7-6, Season: 7-6


Coming off their bye week the Steelers will face the Denver Broncos on Sunday Night. The Broncos are hungry for a win, and will welcome the Steelers into a hostile environment. The main matchups will be with the running backs Willie Parker (PIT) and Travis Henry (DEN). Both backs are in the top 5 in yards/game rushing this season. Both teams also sport good defenses, who should turn this into a physical, hard-hitting matchup. The Steelers need to beware of WR Javon Walker, who burned them last season, especially CB Ike Taylor. In the end, the Steelers defense should be too much to handle for the Broncos. It will be rockin' a mile high, which will make it closer, but it won't be enough.

Prediction: Steelers- 27, Broncos- 21

NFL Predictions: Week 6

1 pm Games
- Bengals @ Chiefs: Bengals
- Dolphins @ Browns: Browns
- Rams @ Ravens: Ravens
- Redskins @ Packers: Packers
- Texans @ Jaguars: Texans
- Vikings @ Bears: Bears
- Eagles @ Jets: Eagles
- Titans @ Buccaneers: Buccaneers

4 pm Games
- Panthers @ Cardinals: Cardinals
- Patriots @ Cowboys: Patriots
- Raiders @ Chargers: Chargers

8 pm Game
- Saints @ Seahawks: Seahawks

Monday Night Football
- Giants @ Falcons: Falcons (Upset Special)

NFL Top 10 Power Rankings- Week 6

Team-----Record-LW--Reason

1. Patriots---(5-0)~1-- Another blowout (Against the Browns). They will have their first test this wekk though against the 'Boys.

2. Colts-----(5-0)~2-- Many people thought Tampa Bay would give them a run... Yeah... ok.

3. Cowboys--(5-0)~3t- Romo almost blew it, but good teams win when they play horrible games. And they did win (barely!)

4. Steelers---(4-1)~3t- They showed that Arizona was just a fluke by dominating who many thought was the 2nd or 3rd best team in the NFC.

5. Packers---(4-1)~5- A tough game on Sunday night, they should've won. If only Brett Favre could still play..........

6. Titans----(3-1)~6-- Still imroving every week. This is a definite playoff team, but in the AFC, maybe not a contender...yet.

7. Jaguars---(3-1)~7-- When your QB has 0 INT's for the season, that gives you good odds to win.

8. Redskins--(3-1)~NR-Jason Campbell is comign into his own, which surprisingly is an NFL QB.

9. Ravens---(3-2)~7-- They keep dropping down the ranks week after week, another poor performance and they are gone.

10. Chargers-(2-3)~NR-!!! They're back! 41-3 over Denver proves it.

Dropped out- Seahawks (3-2), Bengals (1-3)
Look out for- Seahawks, Buccaneers, Giants

Steelers 21, Seahawks 0

Two years after the Seahawks and Steelers met in Superbowl XL they met ahain at Heinz Field. This time was much like the last, except that Seattle forgot to show up completely. The Steelers dominated the Seahawks in a matchup of 3-1 teams. Maybe the most impressive part of the win was that the Steelers played with a number of players due to injury. Troy Polamalu, Casey Hampton, Hines Ward and Santonio Holmes were all inactive starters Sunday. The loss of 2 recievers left QB Ben Roethlisberger with limited options. However, Roethlisberger threw for 206 yards, a TD and 0 interceptions. Willie Parker split the rushing load with Najeh Davenport (right). Parker had 106 yards rushing, going over 100 yards for the 4th time in 5 games this season. Davenport filled in nicely with 2 touchdowns and 45 yards rushing. The defense was the most dominant however, holding the Seahawks to nearly any yards. Star Running Back Shaun Alexander had only 25 yards rushing. The turning point in the game came at the end of the first half, when the Seahawks decided to go for a touchdown to tie the game instead of kicking the field goal. QB Matt Hasslebeck threw a fade that fell short on the right side of the endzone and right into the hands of CB Ike Taylor, who would go on the have a great game, earning AFC Defensive Player of the Week. The Steelers would go into the half up 7-0 before running away in the scond half to a 21-0 win. (No blaming the "guys in stripes" this time Mike)

The Steelers enter there bye week in week 6 with a solid 4-1 (should be 5-0) record and sitting atop the NFC North.

Steelers 14, Cardinals 21

It was a tought trip to the desert for Mike Tomlin and his team, as they fell to the lowly Arizona Cardinals in front of a mixed Steelers and Cardinals crowd. The Cardinals, who were without star reciever Anquan Boldin, managed to do just enough to edge the undefeated Steelers. They forced turnovers, had a dazzling punt return, and played solid defense throughout the game. Tomlin, who experienced losing for the first time, was not happy, and neither were his players. QB Ben Roethlisberger threw 2 interceptions, one of which was in the opponents endzone, stopping the Steelers from tying the game. Willie Parker was limited to only 37 yards rushing on the day, the first time this season he has failed to go over 100 yards. The Cardinals were led by talented Wideout Larry Fitzgerald (right), a graduate of The University of Pittsburgh, who seemed to make big catch after big catch to put the Steelers away.

The Steelers look to rebound this in week 5 against the Seattle Seahawks, their former Superbowl XL opponent. This should be a hard hitting game, featuring one of the NFC's best against one of the AFC's best. The Seahawks are led by star QB Matt Hasselbeck and RB Shaun Alexander, who will play with a cast on his broken wrist most likely. If the Steelers play how they did against Arizona they will lose, but if they get back to their ways of the first 3 games, they should give Seattle a good game.

Prediction: Steelers 27, Seahawks 17