Vegas Likes Pittsburgh In Rematch With Bengals

NFL News - November 10th, 2009 - Written by John

It may not have seemed like it at the beginning of the year, but Sunday's meeting between the Cincinnati Bengals and the Pittsburgh Steelers will likely decide the division.

The Bengals have been the surprise of the NFL, winning early and recently against the top teams in the league. But nobody, save New England and New Orleans, has been as hot as the Pittsburgh Steelers, and BetUS is giving them the edge by seven. The over/under is set at 42.

Both teams are 6-2 and a win will create some much-needed answers in one of the NFL's tightest divisions. A Cincinnati win would mean a sweep of the season series and a commanding lead, while a Pittsburgh win would only make it a one-game margin without a tiebreaker.

Cincinnati is 7-2 hitting the under in their last nine against the AFC. They are also 8-3 ATS in their last 11 games overall, while Pittsburgh is 7-2 ATS recently against the AFC.

The road team in this series is 11-4-1 ATS in recent meetings.

Pittsburgh became just the second team to beat Denver last week in a 24-10 win that wasn't as close as the score indicates. Ben Roethlisberger threw for three touchdowns in the second half, two to Hines Ward, and Rashard Mendenhall continued his impressive rise in the Steelers' backfield. He had 155 yards against one of the stingiest defenses and, more importantly went without a fumble. The sophomore has 573 yards, 11th in the NFL, on only 100 carries.

But don't count out Cincinnati, which came back to beat Pittsburgh in their first meeting in Week Three. The Bengals have glittered in the fourth quarter of nearly every game, winning four in a row on their last drive. That included the win over the Steelers, in which Carson Palmer found Andre Caldwell with 14 seconds left. Cedric Benson had one of his rare sub-100-yard performances in that game, but has since rocketed to the top of the league. He has 837 yards this season, including a season-high 189 against Chicago.

He is second only to Chris Johnson for the rushing title and will likely be the second player to reach 1,000 for the year. Receiver Chad Ochocinco has also seen a resurgence in performance. With T.J. Houshmanzadeh out of the picture, Ochocinco leads the team in receptions (44), yards (639) and touchdowns (5).

To discuss this and other NFL related stories be sure to check out our new forum at:
https://www.usaplayers.com/forums/nfl-news/