Pittsburgh won their 4th-straight game on Sunday with a 27-20 victory over Buffalo. Cincinnati easily handled Cleveland 23-10 last week. The Steelers won the Week 2 matchup 24-16.
There is no secret as to what Pittsburgh wants to do in this matchup; ride the hot hand of RB Le’Veon Bell. He missed the first meeting and while the Steelers rushed for 124 yards, they averaged a mere 3.4 ypc. Bell ran for a franchise-record 236 yards against the Bills and added 3 TDs. He also caught 4 passes for 62 yards. The Bengals have yielded better than 4.0 ypc this year and will have their hands full defending against Bell this Sunday. Pittsburgh’s offense is much more diversified than Cleveland’s and I expect the Cincy defense to struggle against this group. QB Ben Roethlisberger tossed 3 interceptions in the first matchup (to go with 2 TD passes) and will want to atone for that performance and last week’s effort (17-31 for 220 yards, no TDs and 3 picks). WR Antonio Brown remains one of the top wideouts in the league and the offense has been getting contributions from TE Ladarius Green and WR Eli Rogers in recent weeks. Cincinnati has 25 sacks in 2016 but garnered just one in Week 2. Roethlisberger has been sacked only 16 times as the o-line has played very well in the passing and running game this year.
The Bengals rushed for 213 yards last week after averaging 106.4 ypg on the season. RB Jeremy Hill has answered the bell with the loss of RB Giovani Bernard (IR) and he’ll be the focus of the Steeler defense. He also committed the crucial fumble in last year’s Wild Card loss to Pittsburgh and has revenge on his mind. The Steelers held Buffalo’s running game to only 67 yards last Sunday, nearly 100 yards below their average. QB Andy Dalton threw for 366 yards in the first matchup but only 1 TD pass. He has 16 on the season and is feeling the loss of WR A.J. Green (expected to miss this game, check status). TE Tyler Eifert missed the first half of the season but is still tied for the team lead with 5 TD catches. He is a real red zone threat and look for Pittsburgh to double him when the Ben gals get close to the goal line. Rookie WR Tyler Boyd has emerged as the leading target but isn’t a No.1 receiver. Dalton was sacked 4 times last week and has been dropped 36 times in 2016. Pittsburgh got to him once in the first game but totaled 5 last week.
Public Money Consensus
In this NFL matchup between Pittsburgh and Cincinnati the public is heavily leaning to Pittsburgh covering the 3 point spread with 80%. The over/under bettors are split on the game line of 44.
