NFL expert Tom Selwyn (@Tom_Selwyn) shares his expert opinion on the best bet available from Monday Night Football.
Pittsburgh Steelers @ Cincinnati Bengals | Tuesday 5th December 2017, 01:30 | Sky Sports
The Steelers and the Bengals have had one of the more fierce rivalries in recent years, but despite the flag-laden games being strongly contested, Pittsburgh have won eight of the last nine meetings.
The gap between them is bigger than ever this season with the Steelers sitting at 9-2 and the Bengals at 5-6, but it’s hard to back Pittsburgh on the road with a handicap due to how much they’ve played down to their opponents this season, just scraping by at times.
The Steelers absolutely SHOULD cover the line, but based on earlier season performances I can’t confidently back them to.
It’s the offense that has been the problem on the road, not the defence – the defence has travelled well and I’m going to focus on their run defence in this game.
Bengals rookie RB Joe Mixon finally broke out last week, putting up 114 yards, but I think the Steelers are going to put the clamps back on him and so I’ll be backing him to go Under 75.5 rushing yards at 10/11 (SkyBet).
Prior to last week’s game against Cleveland, Mixon had been averaging just 37 yards a game this season (48 in the first game between these two) and he won’t find it easy against Pittsburgh.
The Steelers are ranked sixth in the league against the run, giving up only 96 yards a game and in their wins, this figure goes down to just 67 yards.
Mixon could well go on to be a star in the league, but I don’t see him getting much going against a stingy Steelers defence.
Bonus! Steelers WR Antonio Brown has five TDs in his last two games after having only three in the first nine. He’s 6/1 to score another brace in this one.
Best Bets
Pittsburgh Steelers @ Cincinnati Bengals – Joe Mixon to have Under 75.5 Rushing Yards (10/11 SkyBet)
