The Pittsburgh Steelers and Cincinnati Bengals face off on Sunday in an NFL showdown at Paul Brown Stadium. Earlier this year when the two teams faced off it was the Bengals that won 24-10.
The Steelers come into this game with a 5-4-1 record overall but they are coming off another loss. The Steelers were banged up especially with the defense and it really showed up on the field as they gave up 37 points. The Steelers on the season are averaging 21.4 points while the defense is giving up 22.6 points per game. Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger has struggled at times this season throwing for 2,259 yards, 13 touchdowns, and four interceptions. The Steelers are still banged up but it appears that TJ Watt will be available for this game and that is a big boost for the defense.
On the other side of this matchup is the Cincinnati Bengals who sit with a 6-4 record overall and they have gone 5-5 against the spread. In the Bengals last game against the Raiders it was again the offense that was strong putting up 32 points on the way to a victory. Two games ago the Bengals offense could only manage 16 points, so the big question is what offense will show up in this game. Quarterback Joe Burrow and wide receiver JaMarr have been quite the connection so far this season. Chase has caught 74 passes for 867 yards and eight touchdowns.
The Steelers are 4-1 against the spread in their last five road games. The Bengals are 1-4 against the spread in their last five home games. The under is 13-6 in the Steelers last 19 games following a straight up loss. The under is 5-1-1 in the last seven meetings. The over is 4-1-1 in theBengals last 6 games after scoring more than 30 points in their previous game.
The Bengals have the better offense, and I don’t trust the Steelers defense is going to find a whole lot of success in slowing them down. Look for the Steelers to struggle to reach even 17 points, and the Bengals will cover the spread.
AUTHOR: Shane Mickle
