Cincinnati Bengals vs. Pittsburgh Steelers & Game Pick (2021)

Sep 25, 2021 - 10:08 AM

AFC North action gets underway this weekend as the Bengals head to Pittsburgh to take on the 1-1 Steelers and a team in need of a boost of confidence. At the center of the issues at hand, quarterback Ben Roethlisberger’s status remains uncertain as kickoff approaches as he’s dealing with a pectoral injury suffered last week vs. Las Vegas.

Let’s take a look at the game as a whole and see where the value remains as the week drags on.

View our Pick of the Day in the BettingPros mobile app (free!) >>

Details

• Opening Line: Steelers -3.5, O/U 45.5
• Current Line: Steelers -3, O/U 44
• Last meeting: December 21, 2020, Steelers 17, Bengals 27

Overview

For the 1-1 Bengals, a week one dramatic overtime win vs. the Vikings was quickly forgotten as the team fell last week on the road to the Bears 17-20. In the performance, second-year quarterback Joe Burrow struggled, throwing for 207 yards and three interceptions in a game where the Bengals failed to establish the rushing game as well.

On the defensive side of the ball, the Bengals leaned on their secondary, securing an interception of their own and allowing just one touchdown on the day.

For the Steelers, a Week 1 victory on the road vs. Buffalo was quickly erased from the minds of the country (and media) as they failed too much of anything against the Raiders last week in their home opener. In addition to the Roethlisberger injury, the Steelers also lost their defensive anchor in TJ Watt and potentially two cornerbacks in Joe Haden and Justin Layne.

If Roethlisberger can’t go Sunday, Mason Rudolph will fill on for a Steelers team he is familiar with leading. In his nine starts with the Steelers, he is 5-4 and, like Roethlisberger, comes into the season with a new offensive coordinator in Matt Canada, who has been mediocre at best through two games.

Check out all of our NFL game previews and picks for the week >>

Trends

• Under is on a 4-1 run in the L6 Bengals/Steelers matchups
• Steelers 4-1 ATS L5 vs. Bengals at Heinz Field
• Bengals 13-3 ATS in L16 Week 3 games

Follow us: BettingPros YouTube | BettingPros Twitter

Bottom Line

Looking for their first back-to-back wins vs. the Steelers since 2012, the Bengals come into Week 3 an even better team than last year and with a quarterback in Burrow who is one of the best young guys in the league. Despite throwing a pick-6 last week that cost his team the game, I look for Burrow to bounce back in this one and take advantage of a depleted Steelers defense who just allowed Derek Carr to throw for 382 yards and two touchdowns; at home.

Pick: Bengals +3

Bet $10, win $150 if the Steelers Win or Lose Against the Raiders >>

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Podcasts | Stitcher | RadioPublic | Breaker | Castbox | Pocket Casts

Whether you’re new to sports betting or a betting pro, our How To Bet and Sports Betting Strategy and Advice pages are for you. You can get started with our 101 section — including How to Bet on Sports — or head to more advanced strategy — like 10 Tips to Become a Sharper Sports Bettor — to learn more.

Johnny Perun is a featured writer at BettingPros. For more from Johnny, check out his archive and follow him @JohnnyCovers.

The post Cincinnati Bengals vs. Pittsburgh Steelers & Game Pick (2021) appeared first on BettingPros.