The Pittsburgh Steelers got one of the most dramatic wins of the 2015 season Monday night, when Le'Veon Bell lunged across the goal line as time expired in a 24-20 win over the San Diego Chargers.
NFL picks and predictions, Cardinals vs. Steelers 2015: Arizona overwhelming favorite on the road
The Cardinals are the unanimous pick among experts
Things are about to get a lot tougher, though.
Sunday, Mike Vick and the Steelers return to Heinz Field to take on the 4-1 Arizona Cardinals. It marks the second week in a row that the Cardinals will play on Sunday against an Eastern time zone team coming off a Monday night game on the West Coast. In the first game, Arizona embarrassed the Lions, 42-17.
“You could tell the Lions were exhausted,” Cardinals coach Bruce Arians said after the game. “It is really tough for an East Coast team to play out West on Monday night and then come home and play again on Sunday. It’s already a short week, and then you add in all that travel and switching time zones.”
The Cardinals forced six Lions turnovers, forcing Jim Caldwell to bench both Matthew Stafford and Ameer Abdullah, and lead the league with 11 interceptions. That should force even more of the offensive load onto Bell and DeAngelo Williams, who, along with Vick, are averaging 4.6 yards a carry.
However, Vick will have to make some plays with his arm, because a one-dimensional offense, especially one based on the run, is going to have a hard time outscoring Arizona’s high-octane offense. The Cardinals are averaging 38 points a game and have topped 40 times three times in five tries.
Arizona leads the league in rushing, led by Chris Johnson and the return of Andre Ellington, while Carson Palmer has thrown 13 touchdown passes against three interceptions.
Unsurprisingly, all eight experts at CBS are picking the Cardinals to win, as are all eight panelists at SB Nation World Headquarters.
| Ryan Van Bibber | Stephen White | Joel Thorman | David Fucillo | Danny Kelly | Matt Ufford | PFT Commenter | OddsShark | |
| ARZ vs. PIT | ARZ | ARZ | ARZ | ARZ | ARZ | ARZ | ARZ | ARZ |
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