Football expert Phil Steele is the owner and publisher of Phil Steele’s College Football Preview, regarded as the college football bible. Get in-depth coverage of college and pro football 24/7/365 at PhilSteele.com and follow him on Twitter @philsteele042.
SAINTS (-11) over Bills: New Orleans, with one of the strongest home edges in the NFL, is playing its first home game in four weeks. The Saints have covered 11 straight at home, have won their last four off a bye by 15 points per game, and have won and covered six straight off a loss. Buffalo is making its second straight long road trip while coming off an upset win with a quarterback playing in a very loud dome for the first time.
Steelers (-2¹/₂) at RAIDERS: The Steelers have had two head coaches since 1992 and have not had a losing season since 2003. Oakland has had six different head coaches in a seven-year span and has not had a winning season since 2002. The Steelers have the No. 9 offense and No. 4 defense the last four weeks while the Raiders have the No. 29 offense and No. 25 defense. I’ll take Ben Roethlisberger over Terrelle Pryor.
LAST WEEK (NFL): 1-1. SEASON: 6-8