The Cincinnati Bengals and the Pittsburgh Steelers will meet Saturday in NFL action from Acrisure Stadium. Here’s a Pittsburgh Steelers vs Cincinnati Bengals prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best Steelers vs Bengals pick.
Cincinnati Bengals Betting Preview
The Bengals opened up the season on a rough 4-8 run. The losses in that stretch were to the Patriots, Chiefs, Commanders, Ravens, Eagles, Ravens again, Chargers, and Steelers. Since then it’s been wins over the Cowboys, Titans, Browns, and Broncos, though.
In the Broncos matchup on Saturday, the Bengals scored 14 points in the fourth quarter but still needed overtime to eke out a 30-24 win. QB Joe Burrow threw for 412 yards and three scores alongside rush touchdowns. Tee Higgins caught all three TDs among his 11 grabs for 131 yards total. Leading the rush was Chase Brown with 20 carries for 67 yards.
Scoring-wise the Bengals aren’t doing too badly this year. They average 28.3 points per game, but they’re also giving up 26.1 points per game on the other side. Of their 54 touchdowns this year, Cincinnati has produced 42 of them (along with eight interceptions) through the air. On the ground, the Bengals average a tepid 94.1 yards per game (4.2 per attempt) with 11 touchdowns total so far.
Pittsburgh Steelers Betting Preview
Over on the Steelers’ side, they rolled to a nice 10-3 record over their first 13 outings this year. Pittsburgh fell to only the Colts, Cowboys, and Browns in that time. It’s been three losses to the Eagles, Ravens, and Chiefs across the last three games.
In the Chiefs matchup on Christmas Day, the Steelers gave up 13 points in both the first and fourth quarters on the way to a 29-10 defeat. Russell Wilson threw for 205 yards and an interception (with a rush score). Tops in rushing was Najee Harris with 74 yards on 13 totes. Pat Freiermuth was the leading team receiver with seven catches for 60 yards.
The Steelers aren’t scoring especially well this year, with 22.7 points per game. The good news is that Pittsburgh is giving up just 20.5 points per game on the other side. Through the air the Steelers have scored 20 of their 35 total touchdowns, accounting for 196.6 passing yards per game this year.
Why the Pittsburgh Steelers will win
- The Steelers have won nine of their last 10 games as home underdogs following a loss.
- The Bengals have lost each of their last six games when playing with a rest disadvantage against the Steelers.
- The Steelers have covered the spread in each of their last six home games against AFC North opponents.
- The Bengals have failed to cover the spread in six of their last seven games as favorites following a home win.
- The Steelers have scored the first touchdown in each of their last four games as underdogs following a home loss.
- The Steelers have won the first quarter in each of their last four games as underdogs following a home loss.
- The Bengals have lost the first half in each of their last nine games at Acrisure Stadium following a home win.
Why the Cincinnati Bengals will win
- The Bengals have won each of their last eight games as favorites when playing with a rest disadvantage.
- The Steelers have lost each of their last three games.
- The Bengals have covered the spread in each of their last nine games when playing with a rest disadvantage.
- The Steelers have failed to cover the spread in each of their last three games.
- The Bengals have scored the first touchdown in each of their last four games against AFC North opponents.
- The Steelers have lost the first quarter in each of their last five games.
- The Bengals have won the first half in eight of their last nine road games.
Total Points Facts
- Each of the Bengals’ last seven road games in January has gone UNDER the total points line.
- Each of the Steelers’ last four games as underdogs following a home loss have gone OVER the total points line.
- Four of the last five games between teams from the same division have gone OVER the total points line.
Pittsburgh Steelers Player Prop Facts
- Justin Fields has recorded 60+ passing yards in 30 of his last 31 appearances following a loss.
- Justin Fields has recorded 17+ rushing yards in each of his last eight home appearances against division opponents.
- Najee Harris has recorded 53+ rushing and receiving yards in each of the Steelers’ last eight home games.
- Najee Harris has scored at least one touchdown in each of the Steelers’ last five games against the Bengals.
- Mike Williams has recorded 32+ receiving yards in each of his seven previous January appearances.
- Justin Fields has recorded seven or more completions in 24 of his last 25 appearances following a loss.
- Russell Wilson has thrown three or more touchdowns in three of his last four appearances in January.
- Cameron Sutton is just one away from 10 career interceptions.
Cincinnati Bengals Player Prop Facts
- Ja’Marr Chase has scored two or more touchdowns in three of the Bengals’ last four road games.
- Tee Higgins has scored at least one touchdown in each of his last seven appearances following a win.
- Ja’Marr Chase has recorded 94+ receiving yards in each of the Bengals’ last four games.
- Joe Burrow has recorded 309+ passing yards in each of his last three appearances against the Steelers.
- Joe Burrow has recorded 15+ rushing yards in four of his last five appearances following a home win.
- Chase Brown has recorded 113+ rushing and receiving yards in each of the Bengals’ last three road games.
- Joe Burrow has thrown three or more touchdowns in each of the Bengals’ last eight games.
- Joe Burrow has recorded 26+ completions in eight of the Bengals’ last nine games.
Pittsburgh Steelers vs Cincinnati Bengals Prediction
I’ll lean toward the Bengals. This should be a pretty great matchup, though; you could make a case either way. Cincinnati is feeling it over this four-game win streak after eking past a tricky Denver team in OT. The Bengals have scored 24 or more points in all four of those outings and also in eight straight overall (a 5-3 run).
As for Pittsburgh, they were reasonably competitive with KC for most of their last game despite the 19-point margin of defeat. The Steelers haven’t cracked 17 points in any of their last three games (all losses) though, giving up 27 or more in all three as well. Pittsburgh played some tough teams in that time, though.
The last time these teams met was a 44-38 road win for the Steelers on December 1. Pittsburgh notched a stellar 520 total yards, with 410 of those coming through the air. With that flurry of scoring on both sides, we’re not likely to see quite so high a total in the rematch. I do like Cincinnati to keep it close, though.
Playoffs-wise, there’s an outside chance that the Bengals can still secure a Wild Card berth with a win here, and Pittsburgh could use a victory in order to fend off the Chargers for the No.5 seed in the conference, not to mention putting some pressure on the Ravens in first place among the division. Baltimore controls their own destiny as far as that goes, and the Ravens are playing a pretty routine game against a struggling Browns squad to finish things off. Still, stranger things have happened; that’s why we play the games. This will be an interesting matchup with plenty of implications in all directions, and it should be a close finish like usual.