- The Pittsburgh Steelers have won nine of the last ten matchups against the Cincinnati Bengals.
- Hitting the under has been the most common trend in this AFC North divisional matchup.
- Using historic betting trends on these teams may be useless with roster changes and injuries.
PITTSBURGH – In a Monday Night Football battle of 0-3 teams, two AFC North division opponents will take the field in Pittsburgh.
The Pittsburgh Steelers are the hosts against the Cincinnati Bengals, as both teams are seeking their first victory with an injured and depleted roster.
This divisional rivalry has been anything but exciting in the past. The Steelers have won nine of the last ten, covering the spread in six of those instances, with the under hitting eight of the last ten times.
But things have certainly changed without quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, running back Le’Veon Bell, or wide receiver Antonio Brown for the Steelers. Likewise, the Bengals come into the game without their all-star in A.J. Green, who is expected to remain out for another two weeks or more.
In terms of gambling, both teams have had similar productivity on the year. Both are 0-2 on the road, both have seen the under hit in two of their three games, but it is Cincinnati that has the advantage playing against the spread.
In the early stages of the season, the Bengals have covered their spread twice, while Pittsburgh has only done so once. Furthermore, the two games Cincinnati has played on the road thus far have resulted in the team covering the spread as well.
Who To Bet On For The Bengals-Steelers Game
Cincinnati has lost the last eight games played against Pittsburgh, but historical data is a tough indicator for this Steelers’ team.
As the Bengals have covered six times in their last seven games played, and as the Steelers have only covered three times in their last nine games, all signs point to taking the Bengals with the points.
The line has slightly moved from Steelers -4 to Steelers -3, and the over/under has seen some movement as well. Opening at 43.5 points, the projected point total for the Bengals and Steelers game now sits at 45 points.
The total HAS gone over in a dozen of the last 16 games played at home for the Steelers, but the under is the common trend in this matchup.
Even though the Bengals have been bad, they still have kept things close this year. Also, with Mason Rudolph under center for the Steelers, bettors would be putting a lot of faith into a young quarterback with a 56.5% completion percentage.
Where To Bet On Monday Night Football
Half of the battle when it comes to betting on sports isn’t who to put the money on but where to submit the wager. As US sportsbooks offer different betting odds for Monday Night Football, bettors would be wise to shop lines.
Pittsburgh is a city that hosts sportsbooks and many local bettors are sure to ride the Steelers, influencing the lines for the negative for Pittsburgh faithfuls.
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For example, BetRivers, the mobile betting app for Rivers Casino Pittsburgh, is the local book located only steps away from Heinz Field. Those betting on the Steelers will see lines that are not in their favor, no matter how close to the stadium they are.
At BetRivers, the Steelers (-185) are the heavy favorites, where taking the Steelers moneyline at Bovada (-170) is much cheaper.
The same line shopping should be used for those looking to bet on the Bengals for Monday Night Football.
At Bovada, the Bengals (+150) may seem like a decent payout, but across the state from Heinz Field sits FanDuel Sportsbook in Philadelphia, who are offering the Bengals (+165) at a much better price.
Monday Night Football Prop Bets
While betting on the spread, moneyline, or point total suffice some bettors, others are looking to take advantage of prop bets with varying projected statistical totals or crazy odds.
Those who have faith in the Bengals scoring first (+115) might want to break down their prop bet even further. Instead of the positive odds close to even, predicting the actual first touchdown scorer would give bettors a much better prize to look at.
Of the six offensive touchdowns the Bengals have scored this season, half of them have come by way of John Ross III. Joe Mixon, Andy Dalton, and Tyler Eifert split the remaining three touchdowns on the year.
If a bettor believes Ross III will continue this trend (and be the first to score tonight), bettors would see a payout of +1000. Likewise, Joe Mixon comes in with odds to score the first touchdown at +700.
While Tyler Boyd has yet to secure a touchdown to his name in the 2019 NFL season, bettors could take the risk on Boyd (+900) as well.
Keep in mind that betting on all three of these players would still see a higher payout than just betting on the Bengals to score first; however, the risk is lower for the latter.
Another prop bet to consider is the production of Auden Tate. Tate isn’t known for his consistency in terms of targets and volume share on the Bengals, but he had a productive game last week against the Bills (six catches on ten targets for 88 yards).
If Tate can get numbers close to this level (4+ Receptions, 40+ Receiving Yards, 1+ Touchdowns), bettors could see their risk increase majorly (+575).
Be sure to submit all of your action for Monday Night Football before the 8:15 p.m. EST kickoff. The game will be broadcasted on ESPN and commentated by Joe Tessitore, Booger McFarland, and Lisa Salters.
Michael spends most of his time betting on over/unders and analyzing algorithms in attempts to beat the book. His focus on statistics comes from an early understanding of mathematics as well as knowledge of opportunity costs. Michael enjoys playing basketball and reading about the NBA whenever he has the free time. When he is not writing, he can be found in Mississippi hitting the sportsbooks and enjoying a margarita… on the rocks, no salt.
