Pittsburgh Steelers at Cincinnati Bengals Odds & Game Pick
The Pittsburgh Steelers are coming off one of the worst losses of the Mike Tomlin era. Losing to the Cleveland Browns 21-7 was bad enough, but that defeat was punctuated by the absolute debacle that took place at the end of the game. Myles Garrett swung a helmet at Mason Rudolph and connected.
In regards to this week’s game, the Steelers have to figure out how to get Rudolph back on track after a four-interception outing. The offense, which has been dreadful this season, will now have to survive without one of their best offensive linemen in Maurkice Pouncey as well as star wideout Juju Smith-Schuster. Even so, they’re facing the winless Bengals. They won’t stumble here, will they?
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Details
- Opening Line: Steelers -7
- Current Line: Steelers -6.5
- Over/Under: 39
- Location: Paul Brown Stadium, Cincinnati, Ohio
- Start Time: 1:00 PM ET
- Last Meeting: Steelers 27 vs. Bengals 3 (9/30/19)
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Overview
Rudolph was fortunate to escape a serious injury in last week’s loss to Cleveland. The Steelers had already lost wide receivers Juju Smith-Schuster and Diontae Johnson. Running back James Conner is also dealing with a nagging injury. How will Rudolph fare without Pittsburgh’s top three players on offense available? Cincinnati has allowed an average of 27.6 points per game this season. However, in order to capitalize, the Steelers will need depth players like running back Jaylen Samuels and tight end Vance McDonald to really step and help Rudolph move the football down the field consistently. This team is averaging about 275 total yards the last three weeks.
Meanwhile, rookie quarterback Ryan Finley was held to just 115 passing yards in last week’s 17-10 loss to the Oakland Raiders. Running back Joe Mixon had 103 scrimmage yards and a rushing touchdown. Mixon should see plenty of touches against Pittsburgh as the Bengals do their best to keep the football out of Finley’s hands. A.J. Green has remained out of practice, so it will be on Tyler Boyd and Auden Tate to lead the way at wide receiver once again this week. The Steelers have held their opponents to an average of 20.2 points per game this season, including holding Cincinnati to three points in their first meeting of the season. With injuries adding up and Finley at quarterback, we could see another dominant performance from the Pittsburgh defense in Week 12.
Trends
- Steelers have won 8 straight vs. Bengals
- Pittsburgh is 12-7-1 ATS in last 20 meetings
- Steelers are 5-0 SU in last 5 road games vs. Cincinnati
- Cincinnati is 1-10 SU in last 11 as underdog of 7 points or more
- Bengals are 8-3 ATS in last 11 as underdog of 7 points or more
Bottom Line
The Bengals are stuck at the bottom of the NFL standings with 10 straight losses to open the season. While they might not go 0-16, this likely isn’t the week they get their first win. Pittsburgh has dominated the head-to-head series between these teams with eight straight wins over Cincinnati. Meanwhile, the Steelers are coming off a loss but have still won four of their last five overall.
Pittsburgh’s offense is atrocious, and they’re mostly 5-5 because of their defense and the turnovers they’ve forced. At the same time, the Bengals have been turnover-prone on offense. Don’t be surprised if the Bengals are in this game, but the Steelers should do enough to pull out the win.
Prediction: Pittsburgh 13, Cincinnati 6
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Check out our other NFL Sports Betting Guides for Week 12
Denver Broncos at Buffalo Bills (-3.5)
Detroit Lions at Washington (+3.5)
Oakland Raiders at New York Jets (+3)
Miami Dolphins at Cleveland Browns (-10.5)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Atlanta Falcons (-3.5)
New York Giants at Chicago Bears (-6)
Seattle Seahawks at Philadelphia Eagles (-1)
Carolina Panthers at New Orleans Saints (-10)
Jacksonville Jaguars at Tennessee Titans (-3.5)
Dallas Cowboys at New England Patriots (-6)
Green Bay Packers at San Francisco 49ers (-3)
Baltimore Ravens at Los Angeles Rams (+3.5)
Dave Golokhov is a featured writer at BettingPros. For more from Dave, check out his archive and follow him @davegolokhov.