The Pittsburgh Steelers get a “get-right game” in prime time at just the right time, as they have lost their last two games after starting the season 11-0. The Bengals, on the other hand, have only won two games and they lost their first overall draft pick when quarterback Joe Burrow went down in Week 11 to a season ending injury.
These two teams met in Pittsburgh in Week 10, and the Steelers came out on top 36-10. The following week, Joe Burrow was lost for the year.
The Steelers are 14.5-point favorites over the Bengals, and this game has a 40-point over/under. That gives the Steelers 27.25 implied points to 14.5 for the Bengals.
ATS Pick: Steelers
With a 14.5-point line, I tried hard to figure out a path for the Bengals to beat this enormous spread, but came up short. This is probably the biggest mismatch between offensive and defensive lines we’ve seen all season, as the Bengals have allowed the second-most sacks, while the Steelers lead the league in sacks.
Ryan Finley, who is Brandon Allen’s replacement, has completed just 47 percent of his passes for two touchdowns and two interceptions while taking 11 sacks. For his short career he’s taken sacks on over 14 percent of his drop backs.
The last time these two teams met, Ben Roethlisberger threw for 333 yards and four touchdowns, all to wide receivers. The Bengals best unit is their secondary, so that tells you a little something about this matchup.
The Bengals best offensive players right now are their receivers, and if they had a better offensive line and quarterback, that could be trouble for Pittsburgh, but they do not. The only way I see the Bengals scoring is through special teams or off of turnovers. As long as the Steelers can eliminate those type of mistakes, a blowout is in order.
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