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Steelers vs Bengals Predictions & Best Bets

Last Updated: Nov 22, 2023

Week 12 brings an intriguing AFC North matchup featuring two teams fighting through turmoil as they look to keep their playoff hopes alive.

After losing Joe Burrow for the season with a wrist injury, the 5-5 Cincinnati Bengals will turn to Jake Browning as they look to scrape back into the playoff picture. The 6-4 Pittsburgh Steelers currently hold the last AFC playoff spot but are dealing with some changes as they’re fresh off a loss to the Cleveland Browns that led to the firing of offensive coordinator Matt Canada.

Let’s dive in and see what type of betting value we can find here!

If you need some fantasy football roster help, check out our Week 12 Waiver Wire.

Steelers vs Bengals Odds

NFL odds used for this Pittsburgh vs Cincinnati preview were found at DraftKings Sportsbook and are current as of Tuesday, Nov. 21 at 10:46 ET.

  • Moneyline: Steelers (-118) • Bengals (-102)
  • Spread: Steelers -1 (-112) • Bengals +1 (-108)
  • Total Points: Over 34 (-110) • Under 34 (-110)
  • Implied Score: Steelers 17.5, Bengals 16.5

Steelers vs Bengals Predictions

Score Pick: Steelers 20, Bengals 13

While the Steelers have issues they’re dealing with, it’s hard to get too excited about a Bengals team led by a 27-year-old journeyman making his first NFL start in Browning. Through two games in his career, Browning has thrown just 15 passes for 68 total yards and one touchdown.

Home game or not, that’s problematic as the Bengals are facing a Steelers defense allowing just 19.5 points per game – good for seventh-fewest in the league.

The Steelers and Kenny Pickett have had a problem with putting points on the board as they’re averaging just 16.6 points per game (fifth-worst in the NFL), but they should be able to move the ball against a bottom-third Bengals defense that is allowing 22.6 points per game. The sugar high of a new offensive coordinator should also help provide a boost.

With both teams likely looking to keep the ball on the ground, the Steelers are set up nicely to eke out a low-scoring affair this weekend.

Steelers vs Bengals Best Bets & Props

Bengals Under 14.5 (+130)

DraftKings Sportsbook • WAGER: 2 units

With the Bengals likely leaning on Joe Mixon as much as possible, their opportunities for chunk plays will be limited. As mentioned, Browning’s limited experience and a tough Steelers defense have me looking at the Bengals team total under 14.5 as my NFL bet of the day.

You can get better odds for this bet on DraftKings if you drop to totals under 14.5, but I like +130 enough to hedge the potential for two touchdowns here.

Steelers -1 (-112)

DraftKings Sportsbook • WAGER: 1 unit

I’ve already given away that I think the Steelers will win this one outright, and the -1 line lets us get better odds at -112 than just simply going with the Steelers moneyline. While the Bengals have home-field advantage, that isn’t going to mean much without Burrow.

The Steelers have won two of their last three games and barely lost to a good Browns team this past weekend, so they should be able to handle the Burrow-less Bengals to improve their road record to 3-2.

Under 34 (-110)

DraftKings Sportsbook • WAGER: 1 unit

With both the Steelers and Bengals likely leaning on their running game, the pace of this game should be slow and limit each team’s opportunities to put points on the board.

Each defense is amongst the best in the league in limiting opposing rushing attacks, so we should see a low-scoring game featuring plenty of work for the punters. We may come close to the 34 total, but Pickett has six total touchdown passes on the season, so it’s safe to say this isn’t going to be a shootout between Pickett and Browning.

Under 2.5 Turnovers (+115)

DraftKings Sportsbook • WAGER: 0.5 units

While each defense is in the top six in the NFL regarding takeaways, most of those takeaways have come in the form of interceptions, and I don’t think we’ll see either quarterback get a ton of chances to throw those interceptions. I’m dropping my confidence to 0.5 units here because I don’t trust Browning or Pickett, but I like the odds enough to take a chance.

Steelers vs Bengals Same Game Parlay

Steelers vs Bengals SGP (+260)

DraftKings Sportsbook • WAGER: 2 units

  • Steelers -1 (-112)
  • Over 34 (-110)

We aren’t getting too crazy with the bets here, as I like the +260 odds for combining two individual bets that I think we can feel pretty confident about. With the Steelers likely relying upon Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren and the Bengals putting the rock in Mixon’s hands, the score should stay low.

While stranger things have happened, the Bengals will have a tough time upsetting a 6-4 team with Browning at the helm.

Author

Nick Roberts

Nick is an analyst at The Game Day who writes about the NFL and NBA from a betting perspective. He previously contributed to RotoWorld, Rotowire, and The New York Times. Nick resides in New Jersey.

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