Cincinnati Bengals
vs.
Pittsburgh Steelers
Week 7
NFL Pick
10/22/17
By: Jason Green
Cincinnati Bengals (2-3 SU 3-2 ATS) vs. Pittsburgh Steelers (4-2 SU 3-3 ATS)
The Bengals have won two in a row after starting the season 0-3. Andy Dalton and the offense has woken up in the last two Games, but that unit still ranks 30th in the league while their defense ranks 2nd in points allowed per Game. CiNCy could really use a win in this Game, as they are behind the 4-2 Steelers and it will be an uphill hill battle to catch them if they take a loss.
At 5 dimes sportsbook the Steelers are 5.5-point favorites with a total of 41.
The Steelers are coming off a solid win knocking the Kansas City Chiefs from the ranks of the unbeaten. To say they have been up and down would be an understatement, as two weeks back they were beaten badly at home by the Jacksonville Jaguars and then last week they were on the road and beat KC. This Pittsburgh team is unlike the last few seasons, as they are led by their D, which ranks 4th in the league in points allowed.
The Steelers have covered the spread in five of their last seven Games facing the Bengals.
The Bengals beat the Buffalo Bills 20-16 in their last Game where they had 388 total yards and played solid on defense holding Buffalo to 221 yards. Dalton passed for 328 yards with a TD and 2 picks and A.J. Green, who had a fumble in the Game, racked up 189 receiving yards with a TD and his last long bomb catch iced the win. Dalton had gone three straight Game without an INT before the Buffalo Game. Good thing Dalton and the CiNCy D played well, as the run Game struggled with only 65 rushing yards and Joe Mixon led the team with 51 yards.
Cincinnati is 1-1 on the road and the road team is 3-1-1 ATS in the last five Games between these bitter division rivals.
In their last Game the Steelers beat the Chiefs 19-13 where their D came up big holding Kansas City to only 251 yards and kept them to only one first half first down. Ben Roethlisberger had 252 passing yards and no surprise star WR Antonio Brown got most of them with 155 receiving yards. Brown is having another big-time season and he leads the NFL in receiving yards by a very wide margin. Le’Veon Bell rushed for 179 yards with a TD and in his last two Games he has racked up at least 144 yards in each.
The Bengals are 4-0 ATS in their last 4 road Games, 3-7-1 ATS vs. a team with a winning record, and in their last 6 road Games the Under record is 5-1.
The Steelers are 1-4 ATS in their last 5 Games following a straight up win, 13-6-1 ATS in their last 20 Games in October, and in their last 27 Games against a team with a losing record they have an Under record of 21-6.
Jason’s Pick: The Bengals have covered in their last Four road Games, but the Steelers looked like the legit Super Bowl contender many though they would be last week and will play well again. Pittsburgh will not throttle CiNCy, but in their house they will win and cover the spread.