Cincinnati Bengals vs Pittsburgh Steelers Prediction, Preview and Odds - 01/04/2025

Game Time: 8:00 pm ET, Saturday, January 4, 2025

Venue:  Acrisure Stadium, Pittsburgh, PA

Where to Watch:  ESPN, ABC

DraftKings:  Point Spread:  Bengals -2, Steelers +2; Over/Under:  48 points

Bet365:  Point Spread:  Bengals -1.5, Steelers +1.5; Over/Under:  48 points

BetMGM:  Point Spread:  Bengals -1.5, Steelers +1.5; Over/Under:  48 points

Cincinnati Bengals:  8-8 (3rd place, AFC North)

Pittsburgh Steelers:  10-6 (2nd place, AFC North)

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Cincinnati Bengals:  won their last game at home against the Denver Broncos 30-24 in overtime.

Pittsburgh Steelers:  lost their last game at home against the Kansas City Chiefs 29-10.

The Bengals are entering this game with an 8-8 record overall and they have a 2-3 record in their divisional games too. They are 3-5 in their home games, 5-3 in their road games, and they are also 0-0 in their neutral site games this season, but they will be on the road for this game. They won their last game against the Denver Broncos 30-24 in OT. Joe Burrow was the starting QB and he completed 39/49 passes for 412 passing yards, 3 touchdowns, and 0 interceptions. Chase Brown led the team in rushing yards with 67. Tee Higgins led the receivers with 131 receiving yards on 11 receptions and 3 TDs. Cam Taylor-Britt led the defense in that game with 7 solo tackles and 1 assisted tackle while Cedric Johnson led the defense in sacks with 1. Germaine Pratt came away with the only interception for them in that one.

 

 

 

The Steelers are entering this game with a 10-6 record overall and they have a 3-2 record in their divisional games too. They are 5-2 in their home games, 5-4 in their road games, and they are also 0-0 in their neutral site games this season, but they will be at home for this game. They lost their last game against the Kansas City Chiefs 29-10. Russell Wilson was the starting QB and he completed 23/37 passes for 205 passing yards, 0 touchdowns, and 1 interception. Najee Harris led the team in rushing yards with 74. Pat Freiermuth led the receivers with 60 receiving yards on 7 receptions. Minkah Fitzpatrick led the defense in that game with 6 solo tackles and 1 assisted tackle while no one on the defense recorded a sack for them. No one on the defense came away with an interception for them in that one.

The current betting odds have the Bengals listed as a 2 point favorite in this game according to Draftkings Sportsbook. The Bengals have looked good in their games this season with their 8-8 record overall, but that record has them in 3rd place of the AFC North and out of the playoffs at the moment. They have had some bad games this season with one of the worst defenses in the NFL holding them back, but they are alive coming into this final week and need to win this game while also having the Dolphins lose. They may have a terrible defense this year, but they do have one of the best offenses in the NFL with the points they have been putting up each week and they have been really hot over the last month. Meanwhile, the Steelers have looked good in their games this season with their 10-6 record overall which has them in 2nd place of the AFC North and locked into a Wild Card spot at least, but they are still trying to win the division too. They can still win the AFC North with a win in this game, but that only happens if the Ravens lose their game. The Steelers haven't looked good lately either, losing 3 games in a row now, and they are coming off a terrible 29-10 loss to the Chiefs on Christmas Day in their last one. The Steelers would like to win the division, but they really have no control needing the Ravens to lose too and the Steelers will still be in the playoffs with a loss in this game. The Bengals have been the much hotter team over the last month and they need this game a lot more. The best way to place a bet here is on the Bengals to cover the spread in this game. 

Bengals Steelers Prediction:  Our NFL Pick for Saturday, January 4, 2025 (8:00 pm ET start time) is Bengals 35 Steelers 26.

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Cincinnati Bengals: 8-3 ATS after 3 or more consecutive wins against the spread. 18-9 ATS in road games. 12-3 ATS after scoring 30 points or more last game. 10-3 OVER revenging a loss against an opponent. 6-3 OVER after a win by 6 or less points. 10-5 OVER when playing against a good team (Win Pct. 60% to 75%).

Pittsburgh Steelers: 8-16 1H ATS in home games. 3-12 1H ATS vs. good offensive teams - scoring 24 or more points/game. 4-13 1H ATS versus good offensive teams - averaging 350 yards/game or more. 7-2 OVER off a home loss. 14-8 OVER after playing a game at home. 9-4 1H OVER vs. good passing teams averaging 7 or more passing yards/att.

Cincinnati Bengals:  G. Stone (SAF) Questionable - Illness. J. Ossai (DE) Questionable - Illness. J. Battle (SAF) Injured - Hand. A. Mims (OT) Questionable - Ankle. T. Hudson (TE) Doubtful - Knee. S. Hubbard (DE) Out - Knee. S. Rankins (DT) Out - Illness. O. Brown (OT) Injured - Fibula. C. Jones (WR) Questionable - Groin. J. Burrow (QB) Injured - Wrist. T. Higgins (WR) Questionable - Ankle.

Pittsburgh Steelers:  M. Williams (WR) Injured - NIR - Rest. T. Matakevich (LB) Injured - Knee. I. Seumalo (G) Injured - NIR - Rest. B. Skowronek (WR) Out - Hip. J. Porter (CB) Out - Knee. D. Jackson (CB) Injured - Back. J. Fields (QB) Questionable - Abdominal. E. Roberts (LB) Injured - NIR - Rest. D. Elliott (SAF) Injured - Hamstring. G. Pickens (WR) Injured - Hamstring. T. Watt (LB) Injured - NIR - Rest. L. Ogunjobi (DT) Injured - Groin. C. Heyward (DT) Injured - NIR - Rest.

“I don’t know that anybody can stand on the field and watch Joe Burrow and say he’s not the best player in the world.” - Zac Taylor after his team’s win against the Broncos in their last game. 

“That sucked, to be blunt.” - Mike Tomlin after his team’s loss against the Chiefs in their last game. 

WR Chase, Ja'Marr 

WR Higgins, Tee

WR Iosivas, Andrei 

TE Gesicki, Mike

QB Burrow, Joe 

RB Herbert, Khalil 

WR Pickens, George 

WR Jefferson, Van 

WR Austin III, Calvin

TE Freiermuth, Pat

QB Wilson, Russell 

RB Warren, Jaylen

FB Heyward, Connor

Passing: J. Burrow (4641)

Rushing: C. Brown (990)

Receiving: J. Chase (1612)

Touchdowns: J. Chase (16)

Passing: R. Wilson (2334)

Rushing: N. Harris (1007)

Receiving: G. Pickens (900)

Touchdowns: P. Freiermuth (6)

Coaches:

Cincinnati Bengals: Zac Taylor (6th season)

Pittsburgh Steelers: Mike Tomlin (18th season)