The Pittsburgh Steelers and Cincinnati Bengals do battle in a Week 17 finale at Heinz Field. The NFL’s top passer, Roethlisberger (4,635 yards, 30 TDs), and second-leading rusher, Bell (1,341 yards, 8 TDs) will be the focal point of this contest. Pittsburgh and Cincinnati will both be looking to keep up their winning momentum. Each team has risen to another level as of late, with both teams having won four of their last five. The game will air Sunday at 8:30 p.m. ET on NBC.
In a Week 14 meeting between these two teams, Cincinnati lost in ugly fashion to Pittsburgh 42-21. Bell had a good outing on the ground in that game, gaining 185 yards and two TDs on 26 carries. He had some success as a receiver 50 yards and a TD on six receptions. Roethlisberger had a big game as well, totaling 350 yards and three TDs through the air. Green had a big performance for Cincinnati in that game, pulling in 11 balls for 224 yards and one TD. Dalton had a great game as well, adding 302 yards and two TDs through the air.
The odds between the Steelers and the Bengals are even this week, while the Over/Under (O/U) is zero points. The Steelers enter the game with records of 10-5 Straight Up (SU) and 8-7 Against The Spread (ATS) this season. In their five most recent matchups, the Steelers went 4-1 SU and 3-2 ATS. A focal point of Pittsburgh’s offense at home is the passing game, where they rank first in the league with 344.6 passing yards per home game. Turning to the Steelers defense, a few key spots could be deciding factors this week. The Bengals will be matching up against a stout Pittsburgh run defense, which only allowed 82.8 rushing yards over its last five matchups. Pittsburgh usually finishes games strong, averaging a league-best 9.7 points in the fourth quarter. Pittsburgh is one of the leading teams in time of possession. They hold onto the ball an average of 33:53 per game.
On the other side, the Bengals have 9-4-1 SU and 7-6-1 ATS records this season. Over their last five games, the Bengals have a SU record of 3-1 and a 2-2 record ATS for those betting with them. Other teams have a high success rate running the ball against the Bengals. It may be in Pittsburgh’s game plan to take advantage of the home team’s inability to stop the run in their own stadium, 27th in the league at 4.6 yards per carry. The Steelers may want to check what’s in Cincinnati’s coolers when they match up this week. The Bengals are playing better defense than they have all year, only allowing 13 PPG over their last five games, which is well under their season average of 20.6 points. The front seven for the Bengals will be looking to shut down the already weak rushing attack of the Steelers, which ranks 27th in the league when playing at home, with an average of 90.1 rushing yards per game. The Bengals can take advantage of Pittsburgh’s bad habit of starting the second half cold. They allow an average of seven points during the third quarter of home games, ranking 29th in the NFL. With an average of 104.7 return yards per game (fourth-most in the league), Cincinnati has had a great deal of success with its special teams.
Predictions: SU Winner – CIN, ATS Winner – CIN, O/U – Under
Notes
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Pittsburgh’s last 9 games.
Pittsburgh is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games.
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Pittsburgh’s last 7 games at home.
Pittsburgh is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games at home.
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Pittsburgh’s last 6 games when playing Cincinnati.
Pittsburgh is 7-2 SU in its last 9 games when playing Cincinnati.
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Pittsburgh’s last 5 games when playing at home against Cincinnati.
Pittsburgh is 5-2 SU in its last 7 games when playing at home against Cincinnati.
Cincinnati is 8-1-1 SU when leading at the half this season. Pittsburgh is 8-1 SU when taking a lead into halftime.
This season, Cincinnati is 5-1 SU in games where it wins the turnover battle, and only 2-3-1 SU in games where it loses the turnover battle.
Dating back to last season, Pittsburgh is 7-4 SU against AFC North opponents, while Cincinnati is 6-5 SU against divisional foes.
The Pittsburgh rushing attack is ranked 13th in the league, compared to the 25th-ranked run defense of Cincinnati.
