BetUS NFL betting odds: PITTSBURGH -10.5, Total 35
NOTABLE STAT: Pittsburgh is allowing only three yards per rushing attempt
KEY NFL FOOTBALL BETTING TREND: Steelers have won and covered five of the last six meetings
(For more useful stats and trends, visit our special Matchup Tool)
The Cincinnati Bengals (1-8-1 SU, 4-6 ATS), off an unusual tie on Sunday, try to pick up their second win of the season on Thursday night when they take on the Pittsburgh Steelers (7-3 SU, 4-6 ATS) in NFL sports betting action in the AFC North division, set to get underway at 8:15 PM ET at Heinz Field (natural turf) in Pittsburgh and available on the NFL Network.
In the BetUS NFL sports betting odds, the Steelers are listed as a 10.5-point favorite, with a posted total of 35 points.
Here are some NFL football betting trends as they relate to this matchup:
* CIN has played 11 of its last 16 games UNDER the total
* CIN is 4-8-1 ATS in its last 13 road games
* CIN has lost its last five road games SU
* CIN has played six of its last nine road games UNDER the total
* PITT has covered three of its last nine games
* PITT has won five of its last seven games SU
* PITT has covered one of its last five home games
* PITT has won 13 of its last 18 home games SU
* PITT has played five of its last seven home games OVER the total
Also...
* PITT has won and covered five of the last six meetings
* CIN has covered four of the last six meetings as the road team
* Five of the last six meetings in Pittsburgh have gone OVER the total
You don't often have a tie in the NFL, but that is exactly what the Bengals found themselves with last Sunday as they were deadlocked at 13 with Philadelphia after 15 minutes of overtime, when Shayne Graham missed a field goal as time ran out. The media had a lot of fun talking about how dreadfully dull the game was, and much of the attention has focused on how Donovan McNabb didn't understand that overtime games can indeed end in a tie.
But what may have been lost in the dialogue was that the effort against the Eagles, a very good road team, was indicative of the fact that Cincinnati hasn't quite thrown in the towel yet. The Bengals did not get anything going in the rushing game (only 56 yards), but they were able to limit the opposition's ground attack for the second straight week (Jacksonville and Philly had 68 yards in consecutive games).
The Steelers went without a touchdown in Sunday's game against San Diego (although we hate to remind their backers of that). Pittsburgh narrowly escaped losing its third game of the year at Heinz Field, so there isn't exactly an aura of invincibility.
What can happen here, however, is that the Steelers, who have allowed just three yards a carry and no more than 66 yards on the ground in any of the last three games, can make the Bengals one-dimensional. And there is no question that on such a short turnaround, it is going to be rough for a Cincinnati team that played 75 minutes of football just four days ago and got banged up, especially on the offensive line.
But because Ben Roethlisberger has been banged-up himself, and has not been overly efficient (10 TD's, 11 INT's), we're looking at a game in which both offenses might struggle. Let's lean toward the UNDER in the BetUS NFL football sports betting odds.
PLAY: UNDER 35 *
(Graded on a scale of 1-4 stars)