Football Picks: Cincinnati Bengals vs. Pittsburgh Steelers

At first glance, this may seem like the perfect opportunity to win with a bet on the NFL.

You have a division leader coming off a ho-hum effort on national television, still favored by a decent margin against a hungry team only one game back in the race for the division title.

The Pittsburgh Steelers enter this showdown with the Cincinnati Bengals as 7-point favorites, a surprisingly large number considering their recent failure against the Chiefs on Sunday Night Football.

While Pittsburgh was able to squeak out a victory, it came by only four against a -11 spread. With that kind of effort resulting in their second ATS loss in three weeks, it seems the Steelers can’t be wholly trusted against the spread.

Thus, with the Bengals entering this game off a momentum building comeback victory over Cleveland, it will be very tempting for you to take Cincy in your bet on the NFL. I’m here to talk you off the ledge. Don’t worry, I know where you’re at right now and I am here to help. Just back away slowly and don’t look down.

The Bengals come into this game without an ATS win in any of their last three games. In that stretch, Cincy hosted Pittsburgh at home and lost by seven points, the exact spread of this week’s game.

How then, do you expect this game to go, considering Pittsburgh gets the benefit of a crowd full of terrible towels?

It will be tough going for Andy Dalton and A.J. Green, the NFL’s newest dynamic duo, as they prepare for their first ever game in Heinz Field.

When you go to use this game to bet on the NFL, keep in mind that Dalton is still only a rookie. While his play has been beyond impressive, he will still struggle in Pittsburgh; everyone does. So take Pittsburgh to win by more than a touchdown, as the Steelers bounce back from last week’s unenthusiastic showing.