Kansas City Chiefs at Pittsburgh Steelers NFL MNF Week 10 Preview

Kansas City Chiefs at Pittsburgh Steelers -12.5 OvUn 41

MNF Week 10 Monday, November 12th, 2012 TV: ESPN 8:30 EST

The Chiefs head to Heinz Field in a game that is not exactly a marquee matchup. However, this might be Steelers offensive coordinator, Todd Haley’s most important game of the year. After being fired by Kansas City management in the middle of last season, Haley thought he was unjustly removed from his coaching duties. He has revenge on his mind tonight, a task that may not be too difficult, considering the current state of the Chiefs.

Kansas City has been horrific this season and it is the first team since 1929 to not have a lead in regulation through eight games. They fell again last Thursday, losing to the Chargers going down 31-13. The Chiefs will have their hands full on Monday with the Steelers, and will need to cut back on turnovers if they want to have a chance at winning this one. They lead the league with 29 turnovers, 10 more than anyone else in the league.

They hope their defense can improve as well. They cut cornerback Stanford Routt this week, after signing him to an 18 million dollar deal in the offseason.

The Steelers roll into Monday playing their best football of the season. After starting the season 2-3, Pittsburgh has won three straight games against tough opponents. Taking out the Bengals, Redskins and last week, the Giants. Losing much of the game, the Steelers rallied back in the fourth quarter from 10 down to win 24-20.

Pittsburgh will still be without running back Rashard Mendenhall this week, and will also be without wide out Antonio Brown. Emmanuel Sanders will start for Brown, and Issac Redman will get the nod at running back while Jonathan Dwyer serves as his back up.

The Line

One of the larger spreads this week, this game opened at Steelers -12.5. It is still around that number, with some books offering Steelers -13. The total has moved down from 43.5 and is now at 41.

The Play

12.5 points are tough to lay in the NFL, but the Chiefs are probably the worst team in the league. Though, some might think this has the makings of a trap game for Pittsburgh, we don’t find that likely. ESPN has even reported that Todd Haley “won’t hesitate to run up the score” which means KC could be in for a long night. Cassel has been a turnover machine, and Jamal Charles has not rushed for over 40 yards in three weeks.

Also, Pittsburgh has history on their side. Dating back to the Bill Cowher era, the Steelers have won 14 Monday Night home games and have done it by an average of two touchdowns per contest. We’ll lay the points at home, with Pittsburgh.

Our pick – Go for the Steelers -12.5