After a convincing 27-3 victory in their first matchup, the Pittsburgh Steelers (5-5) head into Paul Brown Stadium to take on the Cincinnati Bengals (0-10). Expecting to sweep the season series, numbers suggest it should be a relatively easy win for the “Black & Yellow.”
If a betting man wanted to put his money on any game this weekend, this would be it. Filled with a rarity of elite matchups from Thursday-Monday, the Steelers versus the Bengals is one that initially many could have faith in saying that a specific team is going to win. As the Bengals rest not only on the season, they hone the worst record in the league at 0-10 with odds opening up as a 6.5 point favorite for the Steelers.
Though the Steelers are dealing with their fair share of depth chart issues, they are 6-4 to the Vegas lines in 2019 & 2-2 as the favorite. In addition, Pittsburgh is 1-2 in division play, while also being 1-3 on the road this year. As the common recent critique of playing down to their competition has well existed, they are actually 3-1 against sub .50 teams, winning each game by 7 points or more. Then to reiterate, in their first matchup of playing the Bengals, the Steelers were able to roll past Cincinnati convincingly 27-3, which would mark their highest win-point differential on the season (+24).
Entering week 12, the Steelers remain in a weird spot with narratives. By expectancy, they should win this game, but if last week was a glimpse of the future for this team, then what’s left of the season could be in jeopardy. In order to get back on track, it begins with the offense that is going to have to provide some answers to the doubt that’s hanging over their heads. For their benefit, they look to continue the current 9 game winning streak against the Bengals.