Joe D'Amico's NFL Wild Card Game of the Year

Pittsburgh vs. Denver, 01/08/2012 16:30 EDT, Score: 23 - 29

Point Spread: -8/-103 Pittsburgh

Sportsbook: 5Dimes

Result: Loss

Today's winner is Pittsburgh over Denver. This is my Wild Card Game of the Year.

Oh what a difference a month can make. Whether you agree with his beliefs or not, it's hard not to like Tim Tebow. However, after the excitement hushed, defenses exploited Tebow's weaknesses and the problems began. The Broncos backed into the post-season despite losing their L3 (failing to cover their L4). Tebow's passer ratings were 37.9 and 20.6 against the Bills and the Chiefs, who aren't exactly the most-feared teams in football. The ex-Gator has been picked-off 4 times and has committed 10 TOs in the last 5 games. Now he must face the overall #1 defense in the NFL. Pitt allows a paltry 14.2 PPG (1st), 171.9 YPG passing (1st), and just 99.8 YPG on the ground (8th). My insiders tell me that Roethlisberger and some of the wounded aren't exactly as banged-up as the team would like you to believe. Even without Rashard Mendenhall running the ball, Pittsburgh is one of the most experienced post-season units ever. Dick Lebeau's "D" will force mistakes as Big Ben goes to work on the injury-plagued Denver secondary. The road team is 5-1 ATS the last 6 meetings. The Steelers are 10-1 ATS their L11 games played in January and 9-2 ATS their L11 playoff games. The Broncos are 0-3-1 ATS their L4 January contests and 1-4 ATS their L5 playoff games. Take Pittsburgh. Thank you.