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The Bengals vs. Steelers odds had Pittsburgh as a -8.5 to -9 point favorite with a handful of online sportsbooks offering a spread of -9.5, though this number was hard to come by. The higher number was likely to attract more gamblers since much of the betting action (80 percent or greater) was actually going towards Cincinnati on the spread. 70 percent of those betting the money line liked the Steelers chances of winning outright. There was even action on the 39.5 total.
Pittsburgh currently sits atop the AFC North with a 9-3 record after beating Baltimore last week. They hold a one game edge over the Ravens in the division. Cincinnati sits at the very bottom with just two wins.
Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger is expected to play on Sunday against the Bengals despite suffering a broken nose in the Ravens game.
He cautioned not to get overconfident following the win against Baltimore.
"It's just one game," Roethlisberger said. "When you start looking at it that way, you start to get into trouble. All I know is we have the Bengals."
The Steelers have covered 6 of the last 8 games against the Bengals, however, the two teams have split their last four games Against The Spread. Cincinnati actually won both games outright last season during a time when the two teams were going in opposite directions. Assuming the Steelers were having an “off” season last year, they have beaten Cincinnati in 7 of the other 8 previous games. Over the last 10 games in this series, Pittsburgh has beaten the Bengals 5 times by more than the current spread.
Few of the past trends really offer much of a perspective on how this game might turn out. The Bengals, however, have performed poorly against conference opponents over the past three years when it comes to the spread. They are just 10-23.
- Dan Shapiro, Gambling911.com
