The Cincinnati Bengals have a chance to take with them the Pittsburgh Steelers to the grave if they can beat Ben Roethlisberger and company this coming Sunday. The Steelers need a win to keep their hopes alive of going to the playoffs, but can they avoid a huge upset at the hands of Cincy? The Steelers are +2,500 to win the AFC title. Going into this Week 17 meeting, the sportsbook favors the home team by a large margin over 14.5-points.
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Betting Preview for the Cincinnati Bengals vs Pittsburgh Steelers NFL Week 17 Game on December 30, 2018
Where: Heinz Field, Pittsburgh
When: Sunday, December 30, 2018, 4:25 PM ET
Line: Cincinnati Bengals (+14.5) vs Pittsburgh Steelers (-14.5) – view all 2018 NFL lines
TV Broadcast: CBS
Betting on the Cincinnati Bengals (6-9)
The Bengals suffered their sixth loss in seven games last Sunday, when they got handed a 26-18 road loss by the Cleveland Browns. That’s despite quarterback Jeff Driskel having his best game since taking over as the starting quarterback with Andy Dalton out with an injury. Against the Browns, Driskel passed for 133 yards and two touchdowns with zero interceptions while completing 13 of 19 passes. Still, it’s going to be running back Joe Mixon who will provide most of the life for the Bengals’ offense with so many of their key players sidelined and hurt. Mixon rushed for 64 yards and a touchdown in Week 6’s 28-21 home loss to Pittsburgh and had 68 rushing yards on 17 carries in the Cleveland game.
The Bengals, who are averaging 23.0 points over their last three games, are 3-0 against the spread (ATS) in their last three contests away from home.
Betting on the Pittsburgh Steelers (8-6-1)
There’s a real chance that running back James Conner is going to play for the Steelers after missing the last three games due to an ankle injury. The Steelers are in a must-win mode, and having Conner back will be a tremendous boost for them in Week 17, though, even if the second-year tailback gets ultimately ruled out, Pittsburgh should have enough firepower to crush the Bengals’ stop unit that’s allowing 29.3 points and 418.3 total yards per game – both are worst in the NFL. JuJu Smith-Schuster and Antonio Brown form a a scary downfield tandem for the Steelers, while Jaylen Samuels do look like a capable contingency plan in teh backfield. In the first meeting with Cincy, Smith-Schuster and Brown combined for 116 receiving yards and a touchdown. Samuels, meanwhile, had 53 rushing yards on 12 carries in last week’s 31-28 road loss to the New Orleans Saints.
The Steelers are 4-1 ATS in their last five home games against Cincinnati.
Writer’s Prediction
Pittsburgh wins, 31-17.
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