Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Cincinnati Bengals NFL Picks, Odds, Predictions 9/26/2021

The Pittsburgh Steelers (1-1) meet the Cincinnati Bengals (1-1) in Week 3 AFC North division NFL action at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh on Sunday afternoon. Kick-off is at 1:00p Eastern.

The Cincinnati Bengals will look to rebound from a 20-17 loss to the Chicago Bears in their last matchup. Joe Burrow threw for 207 yards, 2 touchdowns and 3 interceptions on 19 of 30 passing while Joe Mixon handled all of Cincinnati’s rushing work, putting up 69 rushing yards on 20 carries. Tyler Boyd led the Bengals’ receivers with 7 catches for 73 yards while Tee Higgins had 6 grabs for 60 yards and a score and Ja’Marr Chase had a touchdown catch as well in the loss. Defensively, Logan Wilson led the Bengals with 9 total tackles while Sam Hubbard and Vonn Bell each had a team-high 5 solo tackles in the defeat. Wilson also recorded the Bengals’ lone interception in the defeat.

The Pittsburgh Steelers will be out to bounce back as well, taking a 26-17 loss at the hands of the Las Vegas Raiders last time out. Ben Roethlisberger threw for 295 yards, a touchdown and an interception on 27 of 40 passing while Najee Harris led the Steelers with 38 rushing yards on 10 carries. Harris also had a touchdown reception with 5 grabs for 43 yards while Diontae Johnson had 9 catches for 105 yards to lead Pittsburgh. Chase Claypool had 70 receiving yards while JuJu Smith-Schuster had 6 grabs for 41 yards and a rushing touchdown. Defensively, Robert Spillane led the Steelers with 12 total tackles including 8 solo tackles while Joe Schobert had 10 total tackles including 7 solo tackles. T.J. Watt and Melvin Ingram III also had a sack as well in the defeat for the Steelers.

Cincinnati is 13-3 ATS in their last 16 week 3 matchups and 1-4 ATS in their last 5 road games while the over is 5-2-1 in their last 8 division games. Pittsburgh is 1-4 ATS in their last 5 home games and 2-5 ATS in their last 7 games following a loss while the under is 4-1-1 in their last 6 games as a home favorite.

This should be an interesting matchup as the Steelers have looked better than expected through two weeks, but the Bengals are young and won’t be pushed over even by the big bad Steelers. I think what we do have here is a black and blue, tradition AFC North style matchup where there’s a lot of hard hits and a n emphasis on defense. Give me the under here.