Pittsburgh Steelers (9-2 SU, 6-5 ATS) vs. Cincinnati Bengals (5-6 SU, 6-5 ATS)
NFL Week 13
Date/Time: Monday, December 4, 2017 at 8:30 P.M. ET
Where: Paul Brown Stadium
TV: ESPN
by Jerbeek, Expert Football Handicapper, Predictem.com
Point Spread: Pitt -5.5/Cin +5.5
Over/Under Total: 43.5
The Pittsburgh Steelers will travel to Cincinnati to take on the Bengals for Week 13 Monday Night Football. The Steelers have a 3 game lead in the AFC North Division but need a win to keep pace with the New England Patriots in the battle for home field advantage in the playoffs. The Bengals are desperately in need of a win as they are 1 game back in the Wild Card race. The Steelers have won 6 straight games and is coming off a Sunday prime time win against the Packers in a game where WR Antonio Brown had 10 catches for 169 yards and 2 touchdowns. The Bengals are coming off a week 12 win against Cleveland by a score of 30-16. Cincinnati has won 2 straight games and is 5-3 after starting the season with 3 straight losses.
The Steelers are averaging 23.5 points per game although the offense seems to be hitting their stride as they have had their highest scoring outputs in the past 2 games scoring 40 against Tennessee and 31 against Green Bay. The Steelers have a lot of options for QB Ben Roethlisberger to choose from. RB LeVeon Bell leads the NFL in rushing with 981 yards and has also contributed 396 yards receiving. WR Antonio Brown leads the NFL with 1,195 yards receiving and has scored 8 touchdowns. The Steelers effectiveness comes from an efficient passing game where they average 7.3 yards per pass attempt against teams that allow 6.5 yards per attempt.
The Bengals source of their problems this year has come from the ineffectiveness of the offense. Cincinnati only scored 9 points the first 2 games and fans started calling for Daltons removal even though there was no viable replacement. Since that time the Bengal offense has improved but is still only averaging 18.1 points per game. The run game behind Rookie Joe Mixon has really struggled as they have only averaged 3.2 yards per rush against teams that average 3.8 yards. A.J. Green leads the Bengals with 809 yards receiving and 8 touchdowns despite some mid season struggles and appears to be back on track to being one of the top threats in the NFL.
The Steeler defense is known for toughness and the 2017 defense is no exception. Pittsburgh is allowing only 17.5 points per game and have held opponents under 20 points in 8 of the 11 games they have played. They have been very stingy against the pass as Matthew Stafford is the only QB to throw for more than 270 yards on them this season. The Steeler run defense has been a bit of an enigma has they have been good for the most part but then got gashed by Jacksonville for 231 yards and Chicago for 220 yards. They have held all other opponents under 100 yards rushing.
The Bengal defense has also been very good this year as they have allowed only 19.5 points per game and have not allowed a 300 yard passer all season. While the Bengals have been good against passing teams, they have had some trouble stopping running teams as they are giving up an average of almost 130 yards a game.
Jerbeeks Pick to Cover the Point Spread: Cincinnati has lost 4 straight games to the Steelers and lost earlier this season in Pittsburgh by a score of 29-14. There are several factors here working in the Bengals favor as they are a Monday night home dog and an inter divisional home dog and also they are trying to hold on to slim playoff hopes. I think the Steelers will continue their winning streak in this game but the Steelers have been having trouble putting teams away so I think the Bengals will keep this game close. I predict a Steeler victory by a score of 24-21. My recommendation is to play the Bengals plus 5.5 points. – Bet your pick for this game using your credit card at an online bookie where it WILL work for deposits and where you’ll receive a generous 50% signup bonus on your first deposit of $100 to $250! (Example: Deposit $250 and they’ll give you an extra $250 FREE!) Find this great offer at Bovada Sportsbook.
