NFL Football Betting – Cincinnati Bengals vs. Pittsburgh Steelers
Pittsburgh will try to hold on to its one game division lead this Thursday night on the NFL Network when the Steelers (7-3 SU, 4-6 ATS) host the Cincinnati Bengals (1-8-1 SU, 4-6 ATS) the week after both teams played in very unique sports betting games.
Cincinnati played the Eagles to a 13-13 tie last week, the first in the NFL in six years but registered a win against the NFL betting line. Meanwhile, the Steelers played in one of the all-time controversial games for gambling purposes with their 11-10 win over the Chargers.
Cincinnati has really struggled this season both SU and ATS but has been relatively hot lately by not losing their last two games for NFL bettors. WR T.J. Houshmandzadeh was the star of the game for the Bengals last week against the Eagles, catching 12 balls for 149 yards and one touchdown. Bengals bettors have seen the team sputter offensively with QB Ryan Fitzpatrick starting in place of the injured Carson Palmer. Fitzpatrick’s completed 62.9% of his passes for 1050 yards and five touchdowns against six interceptions for a 71.3 quarterback rating that ranks as one of the lowest in the NFL.
Cincinnati’s inept offense has been good news for gamblers who bet on pro football games to go under the ‘total’, as the under is 6-3-1 to date in Bengals games this season.
Reportedly $64 million changed hands in Las Vegas with the overturning of Troy Polamalu’s last second fumble return for a touchdown in a brutal beat for Steelers bettors that ranks as one of the craziest games in NFL gambling history. With lines ranging between -3.5 and -5, the touchdown would have made the final score 18-10 and led to a Steelers cover per the closing pro football wagering lines.
In the game itself, QB Ben Roethlisberger finally broke out of his recent slump and completed 31-of-41 passes for 308 yards with 11 of those completions to his favorite target Hines Ward who rattled off 124 receiving yards. In just his second game back from injury, RB Willie Parker racked up a 100 yard game for the first time since Week 2, rushing for 115 yards on 25 carries. Big Ben’s recent lack of production is responsible for three of Pittsburgh’s last four games going under the ‘total’ per NFL wagering lines.
Some NFL betting trends that gamblers should know before putting action on this game include: Pittsburgh is 5-15 ATS as a double-digit favorite since 1992; Cincinnati is 47-72 ATS against division opponents since 1992; and Pittsburgh has covered the pointspread in four of their last five clashes with Cincinnati.
Current NFL lines find the Steelers sitting as 10.5-point road favorites in this AFC North match-up with a game ‘total’ of 34.5 points.
