Arizona Cardinals vs Pittsburgh Steelers: Preview, prediction

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The Arizona Cardinals play their second road game in a row at Heinz Field against the Steelers.

The Arizona Cardinals travel from The Greenbrier resort in West Virginia to play the Pittsburgh Steelers in Heinz Field. The Steelers (3-2) won on a last second play against the San Diego Chargers, 24-20. On the other hand, the Arizona Cardinals (4-1) annihilated a downtrodden Detroit Lions squad, 42-17.

History: The Cardinals and the Steelers have faced each other 58 times in the regular season, with the Cardinals playing 22 of these games as the St. Louis Cardinals and 32 of these as the Chicago Cardinals. The Arizona Cardinals have an all time 22-32-3 record against the Pittsburgh Steelers. The latest win against the Steelers came in Week 4 of the 2007 season. The Arizona Cardinals won by a score of 21-14 at University of Phoenix Stadium.

What: Arizona Cardinals at Pittsburgh Steelers

Where: Heinz Field, Pittsburgh, PA

When: 10:00 AM Arizona Time (1:00 PM EST)

TV: FOX

Radio: Arizona Sports 98.7 FM

Keys to victory:

After the the win against the Detroit Lions, the Arizona Cardinals flew to West Virginia and stayed at The Greenbrier resort this past week so that the Cardinals wouldn’t be affected by the time zone differences. So the 10 AM start should hopefully only be affecting the fans. On the other hand the Steelers flew cross country from San Diego on a short week which should present a small advantage to the Cardinals.

The offensive line is starting to get more and more comfortable with each other and only surrendered 2 sacks last week against the Lions. The Pittsburgh pass rush has 16 sacks on the season, which is good for fourth most in the league, so the offensive line will have a challenge in front of them. Palmer should target the weak Pittsburgh secondary in order to put the Steelers defense on its heels and give the Cardinals and early lead.

Running backs Chris Johnson, Andre Ellington, and David Johnson should be able to find gaps and consistently keep the ball moving. With three different backs, the Cardinals offense should be able to keep the defense guessing and set the tempo throughout the game. David Johnson is still expected to be the goal line back, and will play a big role in the passing game. If Chris Johnson has a good game, it bodes well for the Arizona Cardinals chances.

The wide receivers have a huge advantage over the Steelers’ secondary. Larry Fitzgerald leads the league with 6 touchdown catches on the year, and should end the day with a few more. Michael Floyd is slowly coming and should have his best game of the season so far against this secondary. Personally, I think John Brown is too fast for the Steelers secondary to cover so he should see a few targets coming his way. If the Cardinals can capitalize on their wide receiver advantage this should be another road win for the team.