The Pittsburgh Steelers don’t have any realistic chance of making it to the NFL playoffs. But they hate the Cincinnati Bengals, so one should expect a great effort when they take the field together in NFL betting action that is set to get underway at 8:30 PM ET at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh.
Cincinnati is 9-4 straight-up and 8-4-1 against the football pointspread. Pittsburgh is 5-8 straight-up and 6-7 against the football betting odds.
In the NFL betting lines that have been posted at BetAnySports, the Bengals are the slight favorites:
NFL betting lines courtesy of BetAnySports USA Online Sportsbook
Cincinnati Bengals -1.5
Pittsburgh Steelers +1.5
Over 43 Points -110
Under 43 Points -110
In Week Two of the season, the Bengals beat Pittsburgh 20-10 in a Monday night game at Paul Brown Stadium. The Steelers had just 44 yards rushing in that game, but of course that’s because they didn’t have rookie Le’Veon Bell in the lineup yet. But even though he hasn’t put up great numbers, he has been a welcome addition, along with tight end Heath Miller, who recently came back from injury.
BetAnySports customers have seen that Ben Roethlisberger has been very hot lately, with nine touchdown passes and no interceptions in his last four games. In fact, the Steelers themselves have turned the ball over just twice in the last five games. They certainly are catching up after a slow start, as they had lost their first four games before getting their act together.
Pro football bettors would be well-advised to note that these games have trended low. In fact, the last three meetings have TOTALED 94 points. The Steelers have also won and covered five of the last seven meetings between these teams in the NFL odds.
Roethlisberger will get a chance to exploit a Cincinnati secondary that is missing a couple of its key members. Of course, cornerback Leon Hall is out for the season already. But another cornerback, Terence Newman, is out for up to three weeks, and so the Bengals have to strain their depth. The guy who’ll be waiting is Antonio Brown, who’s already got 1240 receiving yards this season, but may become best known for stepping out of bounds on that bizarre multiple-lateral play that ended last week’s game against Miami, and which originally looked as though it had produced the winning touchdown.
Andy Dalton, like Roethlisberger, has thrown for nine touchdowns in the last four games, and he has not been sacked in his last three. So it is safe to say that he is playing his best football of the season right now. He’s got perhaps the best receiver on the field in AJ Green (78 catches, 1175 yards) and a one-two punch at the running back spot in BenJarvis Green Ellis (662 yards) and Govanni Bernard (620), the rookie form North Carolina who scored two touchdowns in the initial meeting between these two.
Let’s see, however, if that Cincinnati pass rush can generate some force against Big Ben without the superb defensive tackle Geno Atkins, who has been lost for the season. Get on board for the rest of the NFL season with the best odds and props courtesy of BetAnySports!