Basisphilosophie » Pittsburgh Steelers will take on the hosting Atlanta

(SportsNetwork.com) - A pair of teams with division titles on the brain square off Sunday at the Georgia Dome, where the Pittsburgh Steelers will take on the hosting Atlanta Falcons. The Steelers are 8-5 this season, right behind the 8-4-1 Cincinnati Bengals in the AFC North standings. The Steelers have won two of three games and improved to 5-2 in the past seven games with Sundays 42-21 win over the Bengals. LeVeon Bell ran for 185 yards and two scores on 26 carries and has recorded 95 yards or more in each of the past three games, averaging 161.3 ypg in that time. Bell is second in the NFL with 1,231 rushing yards and third with 94.7 yards per game. Bell totaled 235 yards from scrimmage to join Walter Payton (1977) as only the second player in NFL history to tally 200 yards from scrimmage in three consecutive games. Ben Roethlisberger threw for 350 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions to keep Pittsburgh alive in the division title hunt. Antonio Brown (117 yards) and Martavis Bryant (109 yards) both eclipsed the 100-yard mark against Cincinnati, and helped the Steelers amass 543 yards. The Steelers have scored 30 or more points in seven games in 2014, tying a franchise record for the most such games in a season. We just know that it is one game at a time, said Roethlisberger. We (know) every week is kind of a playoff week for us. Were going to give it everything we have every week. Pittsburgh will close the regular season with two games at home versus Kansas City and a rematch with Cincinnati. The Falcons are even with New Orleans atop the mediocre NFC South standings with similar 5-8 records. The Falcons had won three of four games until Monday nights 43-37 loss in Green Bay. Atlanta rallied for 20 fourth-quarter points in the unfriendly confines of Lambeau Field and Matt Ryan completed 24-of-39 passes for 375 yards, four touchdowns and one interception. Falcons wide receiver Julio Jones blew up for a team-record 259 yards and a TD on 11 receptions. They just leaned on me today and I just tried to make most of the plays, Jones said. Everything they threw on me, I tried my best to get them. Jones leads all receivers in the NFL with 1,428 yards. The 259-yard outburst was the best performance by any receiver in the NFL this season, besting Houston Texans WR DeAndre Hopkins, who posted 238 yards in a game against the Tennessee Titans earlier this season. He did suffer a hip injury in the fourth quarter, but is expected to be alright Sunday versus the Steelers. Julio has a hip injury, and (safety) William Moore has a foot injury. Were hoping that these guys will be ready to go at the end of the week, Falcons head coach Mike Smith said. How much practice time theyre going to get? We dont know that at this point in time, but it is our intention to do everything in our power to have these guys ready to go against Pittsburgh. Falcons wide receiver Roddy White needs one more touchdown to pass Michael Turner (61) for the franchise lead. The Steelers lead the series with the Falcons, 12-2-1, and are 6-2 in the Peach State. Pittsburgh won the last meeting, 15-9, in overtime back on Sept. 12, 2010 in the season opener for both teams. Roethlisberger did not play in that one because of a suspension. Ryan passed for 252 yards with no TDs and one INT. That game took place in the Steel City and Ryan is back home, where owns a 39-12 record with 84 touchdown passes and 32 interceptions with a 98.0 QB rating. Ryan has thrown at least one touchdown in 18 straight games dating back to 2013. WHAT TO WATCH FOR The Falcons have New Orleans and Carolina on the docket to close out the regular season, and face a tough challenge with Pittsburgh in town. Atlanta will have to slow down Bell and the Steelers ground attack to have a chance, and struggled with Green Bays Monday night. The Packers netted 179 yards on the ground and running backs James Starks and Eddie Lacy ended with 75 and 73 yards, respectively. Both backs had a rushing touchdown. Bell poses as a huge threat this week and Smith knows it. Well, hes going to have a challenge very similar to what we had in the game yesterday. If it wasnt there down the field they were going to check the ball down, Smith said Tuesday. Their backs were very active in the passing game yesterday, and the running back that were getting to face this week has had 200 yards of total offense the last couple of weeks. Hes not just doing it carrying the ball; hes doing it catching the ball as well. Its going to be a challenge for us. Smith also gave credit to Roethlisberger and his ability to shed off would-be tacklers in the pocket. If Aaron Rodgers was annoying enough by making time in the pocket, Big Ben will be just as irritating. Rodgers passed for 327 yards and three scores, and hooked up with Jordy Nelson eight times for 146 yards and a pair of touchdown connections. Enter Brown. Brown is first in the NFL with 105 receptions, second with 1,375 yards and third with 11 TDs. Brown and Bryant can give opposing defensive backfields nightmares with their speed and ability to gain yards after the catch. The Steelers have won two in a row on the road and Sundays game in Atlanta wont be an easy one. I really think the significant element of the storyline is we are faced with another road game against a division leader and its a significant game for both teams, Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin said. Both teams will prepare with that in mind and play with an edge with that in mind. We have a great deal of respect for these guys. OVERALL ANALYSIS The cream usually rises to the top and no team deserves to be in the playoffs with a record below .500. Well, the Falcons can be that team if the remainder of the season goes their way. However, the Steelers will make it difficult for the Falcons to achieve their goal with a high-scoring win at the Georgia Dome. Look for another all-purpose performance from Bell and some more receptions for Brown. Sports Network predicted outcome: Steelers 33, Falcons 24 Luke Kuechly Panthers Jersey . His Brazilian opponents said he produced miracles. There is no doubt that Mexico goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa was the one responsible for spoiling Brazils hopes of another World Cup victory at its home tournament. Jordan Scarlett Womens Jersey . Alen, 28, hit .315 with five home runs, 59 RBI and a career-high nine stolen bases for the Goldeyes last season. He is the longest serving catcher in Goldeyes history, having already spent five seasons with the organization. http://www.thepanthersofficialstore.com/authentic-greg-little-panthers-jersey/ .Y. -- That hangover from the Big East tournament is gone for Villanova. Greg Olsen Panthers Jersey . Pospisil, from Vancouver, and Sock will compete for the title against defending champions and top seeds Bob and Mike Bryan of the United States, who defeated the 12th-seeded French duo of Michael Llodra and Nicolas Mahut 7-6 (4), 6-3, 6-2. Brian Burns Womens Jersey . Pedroia reached the milestone with a little panache, hitting a grand slam in the sixth inning and propelling the Boston Red Sox to a 7-1 win over the Oakland Athletics on Friday night.BOSTON -- Putting together a five-game winning streak and getting 10 games above .500 were once common achievements for the Dallas Mavericks. Now, both are season highs as Dallas slowly works its way back into playoff contention in the Western Conference. Dirk Nowitzki scored 20 points, Shawn Marion finished with 11 points and 10 rebounds, and the Mavericks beat the Boston Celtics 102-91 Sunday night to extend their winning streak to five straight. "There are encouraging signs, but theres no way we can exhale or start feeling good," coach Rick Carlisle said. Jose Calderon added 18 points and Monta Ellis played through a sore hamstring and scored 11 for Dallas, which won for the sixth time in seven games and pulled 10 games above .500 for the first time this season at 31-21. "Were looking to move up," Nowitzki said. "If you look at the standings, (places) five through eight is only separated by a couple of games. Wed love to keep pushing." Vince Carter scored 14, Devin Harris had 12 points and Samuel Dalembert grabbed 11 rebounds for Dallas. The Mavericks led by six at halftime and pulled away in the third quarter by outscoring the Celtics 28-18. "The third quarter and the start of the fourth killed us and took us out of the game," Boston coach Brad Stevens said. Rajon Rondo had 15 points, 12 assists and eight rebounds for Boston, which had won three straight games. Jeff Green scored 18 and Jared Sullinger had 11 points and 12 rebounds for the Celtics. Boston managed to stay close through the first half despite shooting 27 per cent, then Dallas took command early in the third quarter and pulled ahead by as many as 24 points before the Celtics rallied when it was too late. "We still kept it close. That was the beauty of it," Sullinger said. "We played hard, but they just got awway and the deficit was so big we couldnt dig ourselves out of that hole.dddddddddddd." The Mavericks opened the second half on a 16-5 run, holding the Celtics to two field goals through the first 6:29 of the third quarter. A 3-pointer by Green got Boston within 53-43, but Calderon answered from beyond the arc and Marion and Dalembert followed with layups to extend the Mavericks lead to 60-43. "In the third quarter, we were doing the same kind of defence, but now we were sharing the ball and making open shots and thats what the difference was," Calderon said. Bostons only scoring run in the period was a 4-0 spurt late on layups by Kris Humphries and Kelly Olynyk, which Dallas negated in the last minute on two foul shots by Harris and an alley-oop from Harris to Brandan Wright with 5 seconds remaining to give the Mavericks a 72-56 lead entering the fourth. Wright opened the fourth with another alley-oop from Carter, who added a layup for Dallas eighth point in a row and the Mavericks lead was up to 76-56. The Celtics put together a late run to make it close down the stretch before running out of time. Rondo and Green hit back-to-back 3-pointers to pull Boston within 96-84 with 2:25 remaining. Johnson added another 3-pointer with 1:18 to get the Celtics within 98-89, but Calderon hit a layup to put the Mavericks back up by double-digits. NOTES: Olynyk finished with 14 points and Humphries scored 10 for Boston. ... Marion got his seventh double-double of the season. ... The Mavericks had one other four-game winning streak this season, but had reached five beating Utah on Friday and Boston on Sunday. ... Rondo was the only Boston starter to make more than two field goals in the first half with four. ... Nowitzki scored 15 in the first half. ... The Celtics shot 27 per cent (13 for 48) in the first half and opened the third quarter 2 for 10. ' ' '