Line: Steelers by 91/2

The facts: Both teams started the season with road losses against teams that finished the season 6-10. New England lost at Cincinnati, 23-17, and Pittsburgh at Jacksonville, 21-3. In league history, only the 1986 Giants and 1993 Cowboys won titles despite losing openers to teams that wound up with losing marks. ... Bad news for Pittsburgh: Since the 1970 merger, teams that have ousted the defending champion in the postseaon are 1-8 the next week (against the spread and straight up). ... The Steelers have by far the league's No. 1-ranked defense, yielding 258 yards a game. New England's is ranked 24th at 335 a game, but the Patriots have given up only 286 yards a game their past six, which would rank them fourth over the course of a full season. ... The Patriots' comeback from a 13-3 fourth-quarter deficit to beat Oakland last week marked the 12th time in playoff history a team overcame a last-period, double-digit deficit to win. ... Patriots foes have a 68.6 passer rating, the third worst mark in the NFL this season. Pittsburgh opponents have a mark of 74.5 and are 13th worst. ... Ten of Pittsburgh kicker Kris Brown's 15 missed field goal attempts in 47 tries have gone wide right. Last week he missed to the left. Steelers foes are worse. They have missed on 11 of 21 kicks.

Conclusion: Steelers RB Jerome Bettis might not really be ready to go. It seems suspicious that he needed a pain-killer shot last week before his first hit. Aspirin wasn't strong enough? Patriots RB Antowain Smith is hobbling, too (sore leg). But remember Oakland's Charlie Garner two weeks ago? He moped around all week with an injured foot and wound up rushing for a season-high 153 yards against the Jets.

Forecast: Patriots 20, Steelers 17.

Kickoff: 4 p.m.

Line: Rams by 111/2

The facts: Philadelphia is 8-1 on opposing fields this season, losing only at San Francisco. No team in NFL history has won nine road games in a season. ... St. Louis RB Marshall Faulk was fifth in rushing with 1,382 yards, averaging 5.3 a carry, the second highest rate of any running back that gained 400 or more yards. His backup, Trung Canidate, had 441 yards for an average of 5.7 a carry, the best rate in the league. ... St. Louis was a three-point favorite when it won at Philadelphia on opening day, 20-17. The Rams were held to 113 yards in the first half, their worst such total of the season. Eagles running backs, meanwhile, gained 9 yards on as many carries. ... The Eagles opened the 1948 and 1960 seasons with losses en route to championships. Overall, NFL champions are 55-11-2 on opening days. ... St. Louis has two 1,000-yard receivers — Torry Holt (1,363) and Isaac Bruce (1,106). Bruce and Holt also rank 1-2 in yards per reception at 17.3 and 16.8. The Eagles, meanwhile, are the only team in the playoffs without a 900-yard rusher or receiver. The 1990 Super Giants didn't have one either. ... Donovan McNabb has played once in a Dome as a pro, helping the Eagles beat the eventual NFC West champion Saints, 21-7, last season. He threw for a then-personal best 222 yards and two TDs with no interceptions.

Conclusion: The Rams appear to be too fragile to take the Eagles' best hits, so their strategy might be to avoid them. Surely the Rams saw what the Eagles did to the Bears' brittle skill people last week. The Eagles should be able to stand in the middle of the ring and trade jabs with the Rams, but once St. Louis starts exploiting its speed on end-arounds and other wacky gimmick plays, the Eagles could be in trouble.

Forecast: Rams 30, Eagles 28.

Last week: 3-0-1 vs. spread; 4-0 straight up

Season total: 126-118-12 (.516) vs. spread; 158-98 (.617) straight up