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The final game of week 15 of the NFL betting lines season offers up a potential Super Bowl 46 matchup, when the NFC West title winning San Francisco 49ers welcome the AFC wild card Pittsburgh Steelers in the Monday Night game. Entering the game, the Steelers, sit at 10 and three but will be without defensive star James Harrison, and possibly starting quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. Harrison is out of the game due to suspension, while Roethlisberger is a game time decision, thanks to a price per head ankle sprain suffered last weekend against the Cleveland Browns.

On paper, despite their equally impressive records, there is plenty at stake for both Pittsburgh and San Francisco. The Steelers currently sit in first place in the AFC North, despite losing two of their three games to divisional rival the Baltimore Ravens. Essentially, thanks to the Ravens loss, and the Steelers not playing until tonight, the Steelers are the top seed in the division. However, one has to believe, that if Ben Roethlisberger can’t play, the task of scoring on the San Francisco 49ers top ranked defense, may be too tough for Charlie Batch and the Steelers to overcome.

On the other hand, this game is equally important to the San Francisco 49ers. Despite clinching the NFC West division in week 12, the 49ers are seen as a mediocre team at best, by many of their critics. The main point of contention is that the 49ers similar to the Denver Broncos have been as much a beneficiary of an easy schedule as they have evolved into a good football team. As we noted earlier, the 49ers are carried by their top ranked defense. Meanwhile, the team’s offense has been sporadic at best, but still found the way to pull out victories this season. Running back Frank Gore has been a story all season, as he went from a bookie software must have on the fantasy draft board, to a player you couldn’t get rid of soon enough.

As well, Alex Smith hasn’t really done much this season. The former 2005 first overall pick, who has survived 10 different coaching regimes, hasn’t thrown for over 250 yards in any game this season. Meaning to say, if the 49ers can defeat the Steelers rather convincingly this evening, it may go a long way, in showing that the 49ers are for real this NFL season. If not, the 49ers will continue to have the reputation of a fringe team. That is at least until; the team makes it to the Super Bowl.