Sunday’s FREE NFL SELECTION
PITTSBURGH -3 over Cincinnati
The resurgent Bengals have sole possession of first place of the AFC North as they visit the Steelers on Sunday. Cincinnati is coming off a convincing 42-29 rout of the Baltimore Ravens, while Pittsburgh dropped a 26-7 decision at unbeaten Indianapolis on Monday night, their second loss in a row.
Bengals’ QB Carson Palmer is having a Pro Bowl season, second in the league with over 2,900 yards passing, first with 23 touchdowns, and first with a 107.1 passer rating; however, no team has handled Palmer better than the Steelers. The former USC Heisman Trophy winner has exceeded the 100 QB rating mark in 10 of 11 games, but failed to reach the century mark in Week 7 when the Bengals were man-handled by Pittsburgh in Cincinnati.
The Steelers rely on their running game to move the ball, and mix in timely passes from QB Roethlisberger, who was shelved by injury for several weeks before returning to face the Colts on Monday. “Big Ben†is third in the NFL with a 103.5 passer rating and is 3-0 SU & ATS with a 102.4 mark in his career against the Bengals, completing 41- of-60 passes for 405 yards and four touchdowns against just one interception.
While Cinci is improved this season, they have benefited greatly from an easy schedule and are still looking for their first victory over a team with a winning record. They have especially struggled on the road vs. qualify teams, as they are 0-7 SU & 0-6-1 ATS as a road underdog of less than 5 points vs. .400%+ opponents since 1997.
After getting embarrassed on national TV by the Colts, Pittsburgh will come out angry and look to physically dominate the Bengals as they are accustomed to doing. As a favorite in this price range (3-7½ points), the Steelers are 8-0 SU & ATS vs. Cinci, and 12-1 SU & ATS over the last 13 such meetings. We also have Pittsburgh at 10-0 SU & ATS as a division home favorite of 3+ points off a road game vs. opponents off a SU win.
Finally, the Steelers also qualify for a PRO INFO SPORTS NFL POWER SYSTEM as a non-Monday favorite of more than 1 point off getting outscored in each quarter of their last game. Such teams are a tremendous 15-0 SU & ATS since 1991, covering the spread by nearly 11 points a game on average. The Bengals played victim to such teams in 1999 and 2000, and we look for them to get run over once again, as the Steelers steamroll their way to a SU & ATS victory.
PROJECTED FINAL SCORE: PITTSBURGH 30 CINCINNATI 20