NFL odds Week 1: How to bet Steelers-Bengals, pick
The Cincinnati Bengals recorded their first regular season sweep over their AFC North Division rival the Pittsburgh Steelers since the 2009 season.
It’s a new era for both franchises as the Bengals are coming off their first Super Bowl appearance since the 1988 season, and the Steelers enter a season without retired quarterback Ben Roethlisberger for the first time since drafting him in 2004.
Here’s everything you need from a betting perspective on the Steelers-Bengals game, from the point spread, moneyline, total over/under and expert pick (odds via FOX Bet):
Joe Burrow, Bengals open NFL season favored to win AFC North | THE HERD
Albert Breer joins Colin Cowherd to discuss the latest in the NFL.
RELATED: NFL Week 1 lines, odds
Pittsburgh Steelers @ Cincinnati Bengals (1 p.m. ET Sunday, FOX)
Point spread: Bengals -6.5 (Bengals favored to win by more than 6.5 points, otherwise Steelers cover)
Moneyline: Bengals -303 favorites to win (bet $10 to win $13.30 total); Steelers +225 underdogs to win (bet $10 to win $32.50 total)
Total scoring over/under: 44.5 points scored by both teams combined
The Steelers announced Monday that Mitch Trubisky will start at quarterback over rookie Kenny Pickett, the No. 20 pick in April. Trubisky, the No. 2 pick in 2017, started 50 games from 2017-20, then played in six games as a reserve last season for the Bills.
Another key to the game will be the comfort level of Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow, the NFL’s Comeback Player of the Year in 2021.
Fifty-five sacks were the number for both teams in 2021. Pittsburgh led the NFL with 55 sacks last season. Cincinnati allowed 55 sacks in 2021, the third most in the league.
Pittsburgh linebacker T.J. Watt was the NFL Defensive Player of the Year after recording an NFL-record tying 22 sacks in 2021.
The Steelers will open the season on the road for the eighth consecutive season, compiling a 4-2-1 record in that span.
Pittsburgh went 8-9 against the spread (ATS) last season, going 2-1 ATS as underdogs of 6.5 points or more.
The Steelers hit the over in the over/under (O/U) six times in 17 games last season.
Bengals receiver Ja’Marr Chase set an NFL rookie record with 1,455 receiving yards last season.
Burrow set single-season franchise records with 4,611 passing yards and 34 passing touchdowns in 2021.
Cincinnati was 8-2 ATS and 9-1 straight up (SU) when it scored more than 23 points in a game last season.
The Steelers lead the all-time series 67-38, but the Bengals have won the past three meetings. That ended an 11-game streak in the series for Pittsburgh.
Pick by FOX Sports Betting Analyst Jason McIntyre:
Nobody likes the Steelers here. The Bengals just went to the Super Bowl, and they rebuilt their terrible offensive line after Joe Burrow was sacked a league-high 55 times. Cincy smoked Pittsburgh twice last year by a combined 65-20.
But I’ll gladly take the Steelers in a divisional matchup here as a sizable underdog.
The Super Bowl loser is just 4-18 ATS since 2000. More importantly, the Bengals will be starting four new linemen against T.J. Watt & Co., and the new Cincinnati group hasn’t taken one snap in front of Burrow as he missed the entire preseason after having an appendectomy. The Bengals are the better team, and I’m not bullish on the Steelers this season. But you’re not betting the team, you’re betting the number. And Mike Tomlin in these spots has risen to the occasion. He’s 19-6-2 ATS as an underdog against the AFC North in his career.
I don’t have a ton of faith in Mitch Trubisky, and the Bengals have a big edge in the kicking game. But I can’t pass up +6.5.
PICK: Steelers (+6.5 at FOX Bet) to lose by fewer than 6.5 points (or win outright)
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