Cincinnati Bengals @ Pittsburgh Steelers: Spread
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The last time these two teams met, steelers vs bengals, the Steelers demolished the Bengals 38-10 in week 7. Pittsburgh easily covered a 9.5 point spread and is currently favored by 10.5 in this one. The Bengals are a better team compared to the last time they played against Pittsburgh a little over 3 weeks ago. They have covered in their last 2 games against Jacksonville and Philadelphia, two very good football teams, winning one game tying the other. |
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There are two main reasons why they have been a much more efficient football team as of late. First, their offense is finally starting to click with Ryan Fitzpatrick as QB. In his first 4 starts he completed 60.7% of his passes, averaging 4.6 yards per pass. In his last two he completed 66.7% of his passes averaging 5.6 yards per pass. Seeing that Pittsburgh has the best rush defense in the league, allowing only 68.9 yards per rush, Fitzpatrick’s chemistry with his receivers will be a critical component to Cincinnati covering the spread.
The second main reason Cincinnati has been a tougher opponent as of late is due to the fact that its defense has stepped up. After allowing an average of 27.2 points per game during Cincinnati’s first 8 games of the season, the Bengals’ defense has allowed an average of only 16 points in its last 2. They are facing a cold Steelers’ offense that has only scored an average of 17 points in its last 4 games.
There are a few hot trends in the NFL this year that favour Cincinnati to cover. First, double digit underdogs have a dominating 17-1 record against the spread this season. Second, weeknight underdogs are 9-3 ATS since week 2 this season. Additionally, the road team is 7-1 ATS in the last 8 meetings between these two teams. Pittsburgh will definitely win but the spread is too high for them to cover. Take the Bengals with the points.
Prediction: Pittsburgh 22 Cincinnati 17
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