Pittsburgh Steelers at Cincinnati Bengals Betting Preview

Monday Night Football features a battle of first versus worst in the AFC North as the Pittsburgh Steelers (11-2) take on the Cincinnati Bengals (2-10-1). The Bengals will play host for this game at Paul Brown Stadium, and kickoff is scheduled for 8:15 pm ET.
After starting the season 11-0, the Steelers are coming off back-to-back losses against the Washington Football Team and Buffalo Bills. The offense has struggled in those two games, averaging just 16 points per game over that stretch.
Last week, in their 25-16 loss to the Bills, Ben Roethlisberger threw for 187 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions.
The Bengals have struggled even more lately as they come into this one on a five-game losing streak. One of those losses was to the Steelers back on Nov. 15, 36-10.
While the Bengals were never going to be serious contenders this season, it was disappointing to see rookie Joe Burrow go down with a season-ending injury, as they have been relatively lifeless since.
Despite playing on the road, the Steelers are the overwhelming favorites in this one. They are -950 to win while the Bengals’ moneyline is +640. The spread features Cincinnati +14.5 while the over/under for total points is 40.
By The Numbers
Even though they have struggled of late, the Steelers have still had a much more productive season on the offensive side. They currently rank 12th overall, averaging 26.8 points per game. The Bengals are 30th, averaging just 18.8 per game.
In terms of scoring defense, the Steelers have been the best in the NFL. They rank atop the list, allowing opponents just 18.2 points per game. The Bengals are 22nd, allowing 26 points per game to opponents.
Steelers Need A Win
With the playoffs approaching, the Steelers know this is the wrong time to start having issues on the team. With that in mind, they will look to take advantage of the struggling Bengals to get back on track.
Leading the way for the offense is Roethlisberger. This season, he has thrown for 3,292 yards, 29 touchdowns and nine interceptions. The last time these two played, he actually threw for 333 yards and four touchdowns.
Roethlisberger’s two best receivers this season have been JuJu Smith-Schuster (655 yards, seven touchdowns) and Diontae Johnson (694 yards, five touchdowns). There have been some issues with dropped balls over the last couple of weeks, but these two are still primed for big games in this one.
Defensively, the team is led by Avery Williamson (54 tackles), T.J. Watt (12 sacks) and Minkah Fitzpatrick (four interceptions).
Cincinnati Hopes To Play Spoiler
Unfortunately, this has been quite a frustrating season for the Bengals with injuries to both Burrow and running back Joe Mixon. Still, the show must go on, and the team will look to play spoiler to the first-place Steelers.
After injuries to both Burrow and backup Brandon Allen, Ryan Finley will be under center for this one. On the season, he has thrown just 19 passes (10 completions) for 75 yards and two interceptions. Unfortunately, he is being thrown to the wolves in this one as he takes on the top-ranked defense in the Steelers.
On the ground, Giovani Bernard has been the most notable replacement. On the season, he has 80 rushes for 261 yards and two touchdowns. Bernard also has 39 catches for 275 yards and another two touchdowns.
The leading receivers for the Bengals have been Tyler Boyd (840 yards, four touchdowns) and Tee Higgins (778 yards, five touchdowns).
Steelers Snap Skid In A Big Way
Sometimes the best recipe for getting your season back on track is to simply play a bad team. For the Steelers, they will look to take advantage of the Bengals’ woes to get back in the win column as the playoffs approach.
With the best defense in football, the Bengals will be hard-pressed to put points up on the board, especially with their third-string quarterback. This is also the exact type of matchup the Steelers offense needs to get things figured out.
For my money, I am taking the Steelers not only to win but to cover the massive 14.5-point spread as well.