In the Monday night matchup two winless teams from the AFC face off where the Pittsburgh Steelers are a 4-point favorite hosting the Cincinnati Bengals with a game with a total of 43.5.
The Steelers are without Ben Roethlisberger for the season with an injury and his loss is not the only issue for Pittsburgh, as the team has given up the 4th most yards in the league.
The Bengals have given up the 6th most yards in the league and they have almost no run game to speak of ranking last in the NFL averaging 41.7 rushing yards per game.
Not only have the Steelers won their last seven games facing the Bengals, but they are 18-7-1 ATS in their last 26 games against them.
One thing the Steelers have going for them, betting wise, is they are 4-1 ATS in their last five Monday night games.
Each team in this AFC North matchup has played a tough early season schedule, as each has faced teams with only one loss.
Offensive and Defensive Issues
In their last game the Bengals lost to the Buffalo Bills 21-17 where they were outgained by 110 yards and had four turnovers and also gave up 175 rushing yards.
Andy Dalton has put up good numbers on the season and in the loss to Buffalo he passed for 250 yards with a TD but had two INT. The Cincy WR corps is thin without the injured A.J. Green and can they run the ball in this game? Joe Mixon had his best game of the season with 60 yards on the ground after totaling 27 in his first two games.
Dalton may put up big numbers in this game as well going up against a Steelers’ pass defense that has given up an average of more than 300 passing yards per game.
Five Forced Turnovers and a Loss
The Steelers were on the left coast in their last game in a 24-20 loss to the San Francisco 49ers where they forced five turnovers and still remained winless.
In the loss to San Fran Pittsburgh was outgained by 197 yards and the ground game was a no show. Mason Rudolph is under center with Big Ben out for the season and he passed for 174 yards with a couple of TD and was picked off once.
Last season James Conner was legit running the ball to the tune of nearly 1,000 yards but after three games this season, he has struggled big time. In the loss to the 49ers he had 43 rushing yards averaging 3.3 yards per carry and for the season he is averaging 2.9 yards per carry.
Like the Steelers the Bengals have issues on defense and that is especially the case against the run ranking 2nd to last in the NFL in run defense.
Our Prediction
The Bengals are 2-1 ATS on the season and they are 6-1 ATS in their last seven games and have covered in their last six road games.
The Steelers have failed to cover the spread in 10 of their last 14 home games.
Look for a close game on Monday night that may not be pretty, but at home the Steelers will get the win. Despite the betting trends they will also cover the spread.
PICK: Steelers -4