Bengals vs. Steelers Prediction, Odds, Spread, Injuries, Trends for NFL Week 18

Iain MacMillan | Dec 31, 2024

Joe Burrow and the Bengals are small road favorites to the Steelers in Week 18. / Katie Stratman-Imagn Images

The Cincinnati Bengals' playoff hopes are still alive heading into the final week of the regular season. To have any chance on Sunday, they need to beat the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday night.

The Week 18 showdown is an important one for the Steelers as well. If Baltimore loses to the Browns earlier in the day, the Steelers will have a chance to clinch the AFC North with a win. If the Ravens already lock up the division, Pittsburgh will still need to beat the Bengals to clinch the No. 5 seed which will earn them a game in Houston against the Texans for the first round of the playoffs.

Let's dive into everything you need to know to bet this game.

Bengals vs. Steelers Odds, Spread, and Total

Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook

Spread

• Bengals -1.5 (-110)
• Steelers +1.5 (-110)

Moneyline

• Bengals -125
• Steelers +105

Total

• OVER 48.5 (-110)
• UNDER 48.5 (-110)

Bengals vs. Steelers How to Watch

• Date: Saturday, January 4
• Time: 8:00 p.m. EST
• Venue: Acrisure Stadium
• How to Watch (TV): ESPN/ABC/ESPN+
• Bengals record: 8-8
• Steelers record: 10-6

Bengals vs. Steelers Betting Trends

• Bengals are 4-1 ATS in their last five games
• The OVER is 7-2 in the Bengals' last nine games
• Steelers are 4-1 ATS in their last five games vs. Bengals
• Bengals are 3-8 straight up in their last 11 games vs. AFC North opponents
• Steelers are 4-1 ATS in their last five home games
• Steelers are 10-3 ATS in their last 13 games vs. AFC North opponents

Bengals vs. Steelers Injury Reports

Bengals Injury Report

• Charlies Jones, WR - Questionable
• Sam Hubbard, DE - Questionable
• Tanner Hudson, TE - Questionable
• Chase Brown, RB - Questionable

Steelers Injury Report

• Ben Skowronek, WR - Questionable
• Joey Porter Jr., CB - Questionable
• Justin Fields, QB - Questionable

Bengals vs. Steelers Key Players to Watch

Cincinnati Bengals

Joe Burrow: If the Bengals had a few more wins, Joe Burrow might just be the MVP favorite. He has had an unbelievable season, averaging 290.1 passing yards per game while throwing 42 touchdowns and only eight interceptions. Can he give Cincinnati one last shot at making the postseason?

Pittsburgh Steelers

Jaylen Warren: Jaylen Warren has begun to take over as the primary back for the Steelers. Not only has he been the more efficient runner, averaging 0.3 more yards per carry than Najee Harris, but he's also proven to be a great weapon in the passing game.

Bengals vs. Steelers Prediction and Pick

In this week's edition of the "Road to 272 Bets," I broke down why I'm backing the Bengals to cover the small spread as favorites:

The spread was set at Bengals -3 for some time on Monday morning, which made me lean toward Pittsburgh, but sharp money has come in on the Steelers forcing oddsmakers to move the line down to Bengals -1.5, which flips which team holds the value, in my opinion.

The Steelers have historically struggled late in the season and this year is no different. They enter the final week of the regular season ranking 23rd in Net Yards per Play at -0.3 including dead last in that stat at -1.3 over their last three games.

The Bengals' defense, while bad, has improved compared to their early-season numbers. Since Week 11, they've been 17th in opponent EPA per play, four spots above the Steelers' defense, which is 21st. That's good enough for me to lay the 1.5 points on them in a pivotal game on Saturday night.

Pick: Bengals -1.5 (-110)

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Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

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