Nov 15, 2014 4 min read

If you want to be a playoff team in the NFL, you’ve got to at least be competitive on the road.

That has not been the case this season for the Steelers, who have played one good half of football away from Heinz Field – at Carolina.

The Steelers are just 2-3 on the road and need to get that record to at least 4-4 by season’s end if they want to make the playoffs in the ultra-competitive AFC North.

Starting with Monday’s game at Nashville, the Steelers face a six-game stretch that also sees them travel to Atlanta and Cincinnati while hosting games against New Orleans, Kansas City and the Bengals.

Cleveland, which currently leads the division at 6-3, has home games against Houston, Indianapolis and Cincinnati, with road games at Atlanta, Buffalo, Carolina and Baltimore rounding out its schedule. The Browns are 2-2 on the road.

The Bengals (5-3-1) have five road games remaining, including three in a row starting this week in New Orleans. Cincinnati also must travel to Houston, Tampa Bay, Cleveland and Pittsburgh, while hosting the Steelers and Broncos. Cincinnati is 1-2 on the road.

Baltimore, meanwhile, has gone 2-3 on the road this season and has three games remaining away from M&T Stadium. The Ravens must travel to New Orleans, Miami and Houston and have home games remaining with San Diego, Jacksonville and Cleveland.

If any of those teams can finish above .500 on the road, they’ll be all but guaranteed to win the division.

For that to happen for the Steelers, they’ll need to figure out a way to score more points.

Even with a 37-point outburst in a win at Carolina, the Steelers have scored 86 points in five road games, an average of 17.2 per game. At home, they average more than twice that output at just over 35 points per game.

They’ll get a chance to turn that around beginning Monday night.

The Tennessee Titans present a nice opportunity against which to do so. The Titans are giving up nearly 25 points per game and are 29th in the league in stopping the run, which means the Steelers should control the game with their rushing attack.

That won’t force quarterback Ben Roethlisberger to be the driving force on offense, which is a good thing considering his home/road splits this season in touchdown production. He’s thrown 18 scoring passes at home compared to just five on the road.

The Steelers’ defense also should provide a boost working against rookie quarterback Zach Mettenberger. Since Dick LeBeau returned as the team’s defensive coordinator in 2004, the Steelers are 18-2 in games against rookie quarterbacks. And they’re unbeaten against rookie quarterbacks in games started by Roethlisberger.

Pittsburgh is a 6-point favorite in this game and, considering the Steelers are 8-2 under head coach Mike Tomlin in Monday night games, they should take care of business.

Take Pittsburgh, 31-17

The Rams don’t have the offense to keep up with the Broncos.

Take Denver, 38-17

The Colts’ defense at home will challenge Tom Brady.

Take Indianapolis, 27-23

The Cardinals aren’t going to go 15-1. The Lions will get after new QB Drew Stanton.

Take Detroit, 23-20

The defending Super Bowl champs are underdogs, but have struggled on the road.

Take Kansas City, 24-20

Mark Sanchez will not be able to keep up with Aaron Rodgers and the Packers.

Take Green Bay, 34-23

Cam Newton is very beaten up.

Take Atlanta, 30-20

There’s no sense in taking the home dog here, but that’s why it makes sense.

Take the Giants, 24-20

Andy Dalton can’t be as bad as he was last week. But the Saints at home are tough.

Take Cincinnati to cover in a 31-24 loss

A loss would be the 16th in a row for the Raiders.

Take San Diego, 34-16

No Arian Foster for the Texans, who will have Ryan Mallett making his first start at quarterback.

Take Cleveland, 24-17

The disfunctional Bears have been embarrassed the past two weeks on the road. But I’ll take the home team.

Take Chicago, 27-17

RGIII should be much more healthy this week.

Take Washington, 24-13

Last Week: 9-3 ATS; 12-2 Straight up

Overall: 69-67-1 ATS; 90-49 Straight up