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Bengals open as sizable favorites over Steelers

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By: PatrickJudis

Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images

Despite the Bengals’ Week 1 loss to the Steelers, oddsmakers still think this is Cincinnati’s game to lose.

The Cincinnati Bengals are headed on the road to face the Pittsburgh Steelers. It’s hard to forget how that Week 1 matchup went with quarterback Joe Burrow turning into a turnover machine after not practicing due to his appendix being removed during training camp.

Also, the team’s long time long snapper — Clark Harris — went down with an injury, which made any field goal attempt a disaster and ended up costing Cincinnati at the end of regulation and in overtime.

It may be for that reason that DraftKings Sportsbook favors the Bengals by five points on the road against the Steelers.

This Pittsburgh team is very different from Week 1. Mitch Trubisky was benched in favor of rookie quarterback Kenny Pickett, and overall have been a fairly streaky team coming off a win against the New Orleans Saints. They could be without safety Minkah Fitzpatrick due to having his appendix removed, which could be a worse loss if Bengals wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase is able to return from his injury, though that doesn’t appear likely for the time being.

Cincinnati is far different from Week 1 as well. The offensive line had never played a live snap up until that point, and while they still struggle from time to time, it shouldn’t be nearly as bad this time around. Especially if Joe Mixon is able to keep running strong after his best game as a Bengal ever in Week 9 against the Carolina Panthers where he scored five touchdowns.

It will be interesting to see how this line moves as we get closer to Sunday.

Originally posted on Cincy Jungle – All Posts