Steelers vs 49ers: Why Pittsburgh Will Score Monday Night Football Upset

The Pittsburgh Steelers are currently rolling along. They sit at 10-3 and have won four straight and eight of their last nine games. Tonight they travel to San Francisco to take on a 10-3 49ers team that has dropped two of its last three games and has struggled mightily on offense lately.

Despite the fact that quarterback Ben Roethlisberger is a game-time decision for tonight's game, I think he will play, and I think the Steelers will pull off a win. Roethlisberger seems to play better injured and while he is said to be limping noticeably on his injured ankle, and wore a walking boot this week, I don't think he'll miss an opportunity to play tonight.

If the Steelers win tonight they will improve to 11-3 and take over first place in the AFC North thanks to the Baltimore Ravens' 34-14 loss to the San Diego Chargers on Sunday night. Pittsburgh would also control its own destiny for the top seed in the AFC.

Simply put, the Steelers need to win tonight.

As mentioned, the 49ers have been struggling lately. They fell to the Arizona Cardinals 21-19 last week and have seen their play tail off considerably following a stunning 10-1 start to the season. 

San Francisco running back Frank Gore was stellar from Week 4 through Week 9, averaging 126.8 yards per game. But since then Gore hasn't topped 88 yards and is averaging just 54.4 per game.

That is seriously damaging to an offense that has converted an NFL-worst 35.6 percent of its red-zone chances into touchdowns. Over their last 19 trips inside the 20, the 49ers have come away with touchdowns on just three occasions. That's horrendous and against Pittsburgh's top-ranked defense (allowing just 276.1 yards per game) tonight I don't expect it to get any better. 

Even with Roethlisberger banged up, I think the Steelers will come away with a win in what should be an ugly, hard-fought battle tonight. Pittsburgh will lean on its phenomenal defense and come away with a solid win.