The Pittsburgh Steelers are, per the NFL betting spread, 4½-point favorites against the Cincinnati Bengals, but Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger knows better than to look past the Bengals. “They want to ruin our playoff chances. I know those guys are going to want to get after us and try to ruin our Christmas,” Big Ben said. “There is zero Patriots, Ravens film. [No] work talk of anything like that with any team other than the Bengals.”
Nix: “They’re gonna play us hard. It’s like every time we play them. Whether we have the same record or not, it’s Cincinnati vs. Pittsburgh. It’s gonna be a game." pic.twitter.com/dShJoLvj1i
— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) December 1, 2017
- Date: Monday, 4th December
- Time: 8:35 PM
- Venue: Paul Brown Stadium
- Online sportsbook American football betting odds:
Pittsburgh Steelers -4½ (-105) 43½ (-110) -220
Cincinnati Bengals +4½ (-115) 43½ (-110) +184
Starting to click (but in a good way, not like the Adam Sandler movie)
The Steelers have won six straight games, including a comeback 29-14 win over the Bengals in Week 7. “We’ve been able to score points. We’ve been able to be successful in the red zone, third downs. Part of that could be just playing at home,” Roethlisberger (with a side of fries) said. “Maybe we’re just starting to click.” Pittsburgh had, in Sunday’s 31-28 win over the Packers, season-best totals in first downs (28), third-down efficiency (8-for-13, 62%) and total net yards (462), and ran for over 100 yards and passed for over 300 in the same game for the first time this season. Big Ben added that “winning football games is our No. 1 goal. It helps when you’re scoring points and you’re connecting and things are going well.” Let’s hope covering is a close second, which scoring points does indeed help you do. The Steelers are 6-1 ATS in their last seven games in Week 13, 12-3 ATS in their last 15 games in December, and 5-0-1 ATS in their last six games after failing to cover the NFL betting spread.
Will the Bengals’ collective heart grow three sizes?
The Bengals stumbled upon a much needed double power-up in the form of two teams in bad and even-worse shape; the Broncos and the Browns. Cincy duly put two and two together; that is, two straight SU wins as well as two straight ATS wins. Pulling an upset against the Steelers would be crucial for the Bengals’ postseason aspirations. To do that, though, they would have to snap a five-game losing streak against Pittsburgh, where, by the way, they have not won since December 2014. In addition to that, Cincy’s defense, which is 4th in yards allowed per play, 2nd in yards allowed per pass play, and 15th in yards allowed per rush, and lead the league in red zone defense, has yet to allow 30 points this season, but it did yield a season-high 29 to, wait for it, the Steelers. The Bengals are 5-1 ATS in their last six games in December, 4-1 ATS in their last five games in Week 13, 4-1 ATS in their last five games after an ATS win, and 4-9-1 against the NFL betting spread when playing a team with a winning record.