By Craig Macleish - San Jose, Costa Rica

Defense should be the name of the game in the Steel City, especially with a birth in Super Bowl XLVIII on the line, and NFL bettors will have all of the football betting lines available to them from Bookmaker Sportsbook when the Baltimore Ravens (13-5, 14-4 ATS) do battle with the Pittsburgh Steelers (13-4, 10-7 ATS) at Heinz Field in the AFC Championship Game...

There’s no secret that these two teams don’t like one another, and their rivalry couldn’t be much closer. Since 2004, each team has managed five SU victories, but the Ravens hold a 7-3 ATS advantage. The Steelers won both meetings between these AFC North rivals this year, taking the game in Pittsburgh 23-20 in overtime, and winning the tussle in Baltimore 13-9. The teams split the NFL betting proceedings.

The Ravens used a stifling defense to force four turnovers against Miami to get into the AFC Divisional round of the playoffs, and used that same defense to eliminate the Titans last weekend in Tennessee. The Ravens only gained a total of 211 yards of offense for the game while the defense surrendered 391 yards, but three turnovers and a late field goal by K Matt Stover played major roles in their 13-10 road win and cover. Baltimore bettors have now covered four straight and seven out of eight games dating back to the week before Thanksgiving. Their defense ranked 2nd in the NFL this season, allowing a paltry 261.1 yards per game, while the unit also ranked in the Top-5 in every major category.

Though the Baltimore defense was excellent in 2008, Pittsburgh’s was pristine. The unit ranked first in yards allowed (237.3 yards per game), first in passing yards allowed (157.1 yards per game), second in rushing yards allowed (80.2 yards per game), and first in points allowed (13.9 points per game). That defense forced a pair of turnovers and held the Chargers to just 15 rushing yards in a 35-24 romp in Pittsburgh’s first playoff game last Sunday at Heinz Field. Much like their opponents, the Steelers have had a field day against the NFL betting line of late posting 6-1 SU and ATS marks in their last seven games.

After opening up the season at 40-1 to win the Super Bowl, the Ravens are the third choice of the oddsmakers to hoist the Lombardi Trophy at +425. Meanwhile, Pittsburgh opened the week at 9/5, and now is just +140 per the Bookmaker.com Super Bowl betting lines.

The Steelers have been tabbed six-point favorites to win the AFC, with the ‘total’ in this defensive showdown lined at 34.

Even though the ‘total’ is extremely low, don’t immediately bank on an ‘under’ game being played! In Pittsburgh’s last nine playoff games, ‘over’ bettors cashed their tickets eight times. Before the 13-9 meeting in Baltimore back in Week 15, the previous four meetings between these two teams surpassed the ‘total’ with the average point total in those four games coming out to 43.5 points per game.

Will the Ravens “pony up” and finally win a game against their hated divisional rivals, or will the Steelers pull off the trifecta and punch their tickets to the Super Bowl for the second time in four years?

Whether you prefer betting on spreads, ‘totals’, moneylines, or propositions, Bookmaker Sportsbook is the home for all of your NFL betting needs, so login to your account and get your NFL Championship action down today!