To conclude the NFL regular season, the Steelers (-14) are gearing up to welcome their AFC North nemesis Cincinnati Bengals to Pittsburgh. This late afternoon matchup is scheduled to kick off at 4:25 p.m. ET and CBS will televise the action.
Cincinnati Bengals vs. Pittsburgh Steelers Betting Preview
In this Sunday AFC game, Pittsburgh is tabbed as the big favorite and is currently giving up 14 points. The Bengals are also receiving +550 moneyline odds while the Steelers are -925. Vegas has placed the over/under (O/U) at 48 points, and if one team catches a lucky break early, it’ll likely generate a worthy in-game betting opportunity.
This game’s line opened at -15. The over/under hasn’t moved since it opened at 48.
The Bengals have lost 2.1 units so far in 2018 and are 8-7 against the spread (ATS). The team’s posted an O/U record of 9-5-1. The Steelers are down 3.6 units for moneyline bettors this season. They’re 8-6-1 ATS and own an O/U record of 8-7.
The Bengals are 6-9 straight up (SU), including 1-4 SU against AFC North opponents. The Steelers are 8-6-1 SU overall and 3-1 SU versus divisional foes.
The Bengals are looking to get back on track after a 26-18 defeat to Cleveland in Week 16. The passing game was on point as Jeff Driskel completed 13 passes for only 133 yards and two touchdowns. Joe Mixon (68 rushing yards on 17 attempts) led the running attack in the loss. C.J. Uzomah (four receptions, 49 yards, one TD) and Alex Erickson (two catches, 35 yards) shared the receiving duties.
Pittsburgh narrowly dropped a 31-28 game to New Orleans last week. The defensive secondary let the Saints air it out for 326 yards. Michael Thomas had a good showing in the win, recording 109 yards on 11 catches for New Orleans. For Pittsburgh, Ben Roethlisberger completed 33-of-50 passes for 380 yards and three touchdowns. Jaylen Samuels (53 rushing yards on 12 attempts) spearheaded the ground game in the defeat as Antonio Brown (14 receptions, 185 yards, two TDs) and JuJu Smith-Schuster (11 catches, 115 yards) led the pass-catching attack.
Cincinnati has run the ball on 39.7 percent of its offensive possessions this year while Pittsburgh has a rush percentage of 33.5 percent. The Bengals have produced 104 rush yards/game (including 90 per game versus North opponents) and have 13 touchdowns via handoffs this year. The Steelers are logging 92 rush yards per game (114 in conference) and have 16 total rushing TDs.
The Bengals offense has averaged 232 yards in the air overall (219 per game against conference opposition) and has 27 passing TDs so far. The Steelers have produced 326 pass yards per contest (305.4 in the AFC) and have 34 total pass scores.
Defensively, Cincinnati has allowed opponents to rush for an average of 143 yards and throw for 287 yards per game. The Pittsburgh defense has allowed 263.3 yards per game to opposing passers and 94.2 yards per game to opposing runners. The Steelers are allowing an adjusted net yards per pass attempt (ANY/A) of only 6.45 to opponents, while the Bengals have given up a 7.45 ANY/A.
Offensively, Driskel has amassed 778 passing yards this year. The signal-caller has connected on 66 percent of his 119 attempts with five passing scores and only one interception. He has a 5.71 adjusted net yards per pass attempt, including 4.38 over the last two games.
We expect the Cincinnati offense to mix it up in this one. Joe Mixon (934 rushing yards, six rush TDs, one receiving touchdown this season), C.J. Uzomah (406 receiving yards, three receiving TDs) and Alex Erickson (81 receiving yards) have all played significant roles recently.
In the other locker room, Ben Roethlisberger has managed to complete 399-of-596 passes for 4,607 yards, 31 TDs and 13 INTs. Roethlisberger’s ANY/A sits at 7.30 for the season and 6.65 over his last two outings.
Jaylen Samuels (112 rushing yards, 129 receiving yards, three receiving touchdowns on the year), Antonio Brown (1,248 receiving yards, 14 receiving TDs) and JuJu Smith-Schuster (1,349 receiving yards, six receiving TDs) have combined to account for 625 total yards and four touchdowns the last couple of games.
RELATED: Week 17 NFL Betting Odds and Predictions
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Notes
Team Betting Trends
The O/U for Cincinnati’s last game was 44. The O/U pushed in the team’s 26-18 defeat to Cleveland.
As a team, Cincinnati has produced 4.3 yards per carry over its past three games and 4.2 over its last two.
Pittsburgh has averaged 4.2 yards per carry over its last three contests and 5.2 over its last two.
Pittsburgh has lost nine fumbles this season while Cincinnati has lost four.
Over its last three matches, Cincinnati is 3-0 ATS.
The O/U for Pittsburgh’s previous outing was set at 53. The over cashed in the 31-28 loss to New Orleans.
In its last three matches, Pittsburgh is 2-1 ATS and the under cashed in two of those three.
The Bengals offense has tallied one pass play of 40+ yards, while the Steelers have accounted for 13 such plays.
The Cincinnati defense has allowed 12 pass plays of 40 or more yards, while Pittsburgh has given up seven such plays.
The Cincinnati offense has created 14 rushing plays of 20 yards or more, while Pittsburgh has created 10 such runs.
The Bengals defense has allowed 15 rushing plays of 20 or more yards, while the Steelers have given up eight such runs.
The Pittsburgh D has registered 48 sacks on the year while Cincinnati has just 33.
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