By Dave Johnson, Betting Expert and Professional Oddsmaker

Pittsburgh Steelers (10-3, 4-2 away) vs. San Francisco 49ers (10-3, 6-1 away)

The Pittsburgh Steelers and an injured Ben Roethlisberger will head west tonight to face the 49ers and Alex Smith at Bill Walsh Field in San Francisco. A win in their remaining three games will lock up the division title as well as a first-round bye.

Pittsburgh has been idle since their 14-3 win over the Browns on Thursday Night Football. The ten-day layoff came at the perfect time for a team that is battling with numerous injuries.

Quarterback, Ben Roethlisberger, is nursing a serious ankle injury which forced him to the sideline in the 2nd quarter of the Browns game. He did return in the 2nd half and finished the game and is listed as “probable” tonight. Roethslisberger has thrown for 3,526 yards with 21 touchdowns and 11 interceptions this season.

In addition to the injuries, the Steelers will also have to deal with the absence of James Harrison. The star linebacker received a one-game suspension for a helmet-to-helmet hit on Colt McCoy.

Harrison has 52 tackles and 8 sacks on the year. Deemed a repeat offender under the 2011 League Policy for Players he will watch from the sidelines as the Steelers defense tries to contain the 49ers offense.

San Francisco at 10-3 has clinched the AFC West, but is still in the hunt for a first-round bye in the playoffs. Last week vs. the Arizona Cardinals they lost 21-19 after blowing a 12-point lead. Quarterback, Alex Smith, had one of his worst games of the season completing only 18 of 37 pass attempts for 175 yards and no touchdowns.

Leading rusher, Frank Gore, has also struggled of late which has led to major red-zone difficulties for the 49ers. Gore hasn’t topped 88 yards in his last five games after averaging 126.8 in the previous five. He did suffer a knee injury vs. the Giants on Nov. 13th, and head coach Jim Harbaugh has expressed he may not be 100%.

Let’s take a look at the current line on the game:

Pittsburgh Steelers    +3-110
San Francisco 49ers    -3-110
Over/under        38-110
(odds as of 9:00 am eastern 12/19/2011)

The NFL odds above are at Wagerweb.com, a leading offshore sportsbook and highly recommended sponsor at inspin.com. The betting odds do change so please check their website here for instant updates

Odds Analysis:

The betting line on this game has been down for most of the week. The injury to Ben Roethlisberger, as well as the James Harrison suspension, forced us to wait before posting the opening number. Big Ben has been upgraded to “probable” and the line opened at 49ers -3-110.

There has been very little betting action on the game so far, but the public has been favoring the Steelers +3-110 at a ratio of 60% as of 9 a.m. ET today. Roethlisger has proved very durable over the years and we fully expect him to start even with the injury. If he remains “probable,” we are expecting to continue to write more Steelers money up until kick-off.

The over/under on the game opened 38-110 and has seen little movement. The betting public consensus on the game is split almost down the middle with 54% on the over and 46% on the under. TV games always entice a large percentage of OVER money so the total could rise to 38.5 or even 39 before the game starts.

Winning NFL Betting Trends:

100% WINNER – 49ers are 8-0 ATS in their last 8 games as a home favorite.

100% WINNER – Steelers are 6-0 ATS in their last 6 games after scoring less than 15 points in their previous game.

100% WINNER – Under is 6-0 in 49ers last 6 games in Week 15.

Featured Player Tweets:

Pittsburgh Steelers

Ryan Clark (Pittsburgh Steelers, Safety)
Hello San Francisco! What a journey it we had to take to see you!




Weslye Saunders (Pittsburgh Steelers, Tight End)
That flight was NOT cool




San Francisco 49ers

CJ Spillman (San Francisco 49ers, Safety)
Lights out time to rest up! Gameday tomorrow let's go #NinerNation!!!!!!!!

Larry Grant (San Francisco 49ers, Linebacker)
Wow. the feeling today has been great. Boy we are all excited and ready to have some fun tomorrow

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