Fresh off a convincing win in Houston over the Texans, Joe Burrow and the Bengals (2-0) travel to Pittsburgh on Sunday to face off Aaron Rodgers and the Steelers (1-1) in a matchup of AFC North rivals.
The Bengals turned in a complete performance last Sunday against the Texans, winning 20-6. After a quiet first week that saw him targeted just four times and catch just two passes, Here’s Chase was the focal point last week, catching 7 passes on nine targets for 75 yards, including two touchdowns. Cincinnati defense, anchored by Dexter Lawrence IIdrowned CJ Stroud and Houston’s offense, keeping them out of the end zone and allowing a measly 60 yards on the ground.
It was a miserable afternoon for the Steelers last Sunday in Foxborough as the Patriots dominated on both sides of the ball and beat Pittsburgh, 20-3. Aaron Rodgers and Pittsburgh’s offense struggled to find any rhythm against a dominant Patriots defense, managing just 235 total yards and more importantly a solitary three-point total. The breaking point came when Rodgers was sacked and crashed, resulting in a fumble Elijah Ponder that pushed the score to 20-3 early in the fourth quarter.
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Keep in mind: Burrow and the Bengals won last Sunday despite the Texans sacking the veteran quarterback five times. TJ Watt and together. will have to apply at least that much pressure all afternoon for the Steelers to prevail in front of their home crowd.
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Bottom: It’s only week 3, but certain trends are developing. The Bengals defense is much improved from last season’s team. In Week 1 they turned over the Bucs four times and last weekend they kept Houston out of the end zone. Meanwhile, the Steelers managed just three points last week and their leader, Aaron Rodgersthrew his coach under the bus on his press machine after the game. A new coaching staff has minimal time to gain the attention and respect of the team. That doesn’t get any easier when a future Hall-of-Fame quarterback and locker room leader deflects blame and criticism and throws his coaches under the bus. Is that locker room in trouble already? It’s only the third week, but…
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Last season, these teams split their two meetings with Cincinnati winning at home, 33-31, in October, and the Steelers responding at Acrisure Stadium with a 34-12 win in November. Pittsburgh leads the all-time series, 72-41-0.
Let’s dive into the numbers and see if we can’t find an extra sweat or two.
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Game details and how to watch Bengals vs. Steelers
- date: Sunday, September 27, 2026
- time: 1 p.m. ET
- YOUR: Acrisure Stadium
- town: Pittsburgh, PA
- TV/Broadcasting: CBS
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Last game odds for Bengals vs. Steelers
The latest odds from Tuesday courtesy of DraftKings:
- Money line: Cincinnati Bengals (-185), Pittsburgh Steelers (+154)
- SPREAD: Bengals -3.5
- in total: 42.5
The sharp money has moved this line from Cincy -1.5, and the Total is down from the opening number of 47.5.
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Rotoworld’s best bets
Picks and expert predictions for Bengals vs. Steelers
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Our model calculates predictions around every money line, spread and over/under for every game on the NFL calendar based on data points such as past performance, player matchups, betting trends and weather forecasts.
After the model finishes running, we place its projection next to the latest betting lines for the game to arrive at a relative confidence level for each bet.
Here are the best bets our model is projecting for Sunday’s game between the Bengals and Steelers:
- Money line: NBC Sports is staying away from a Moneyline game
- SPREAD: NBC Sports is leaning toward a Bengals -3.5 game
- in total: NBC Sports is leaning towards a game at Total UNDER 42.5.
The total has dropped significantly, but the UNDER may still be in play. with Joey Porter Jr. out and the Steelers secondary already ranked 31st in passing yards allowed, the Bengals should be able to score, but can Pittsburgh? And it’s a divisional game that often means a bit more of an effort to control the ball which translates into fewer possessions.
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Bengals vs Steelers: Betting Trends and Stats
- The Bengals are 2-0 against the spread this season
- The Steelers are 1-1 against the spread this season
- Cincinnati is 1-1 in OVER this season
- Pittsburgh is 0-2 in the OVER this season
Quarterback matchup: Bengals vs. Steelers
- Cincinnati: Joe Burrow
2026 Stats: 2GP, 461 Passing Yards, 3 TD, 1 INT, 96.8 RTG - Pittsburgh: Aaron Rodgers
2026 Stats: 2GP, 408 Passing Yards, 1 TD, 1 INT, 72.1 RTG
Bengals vs Steelers: Best Playmakers
Bengal
- RB Chase Brown
2026 Stats: 2GP, 36 carries for 136 Yds, 1 TD / 8 receptions on 11 targets for 24 Yds, 0 TD - WR Tee Higgins
2026 Stats: 2GP, 8 Catches on 16 Targets for 154 Yds, 0 TD - WR Here’s Chase
2026 Stats: 2GP, 9 receptions on 13 targets for 87 yds, 2 TD
Steels
- RB Jaylen Warren
2026 Stats: 2GP, 21 carries for 89 Yds, 0 TD - WR DK Metcalf
2026 Stats: 2GP, 8 Catches on 19 Targets for 67 Yds, 0 TD - THE Pat Freiermuth
2026 Stats: 1GP, 9 receptions on 10 targets for 78 yds, 1 TD
Bengals vs Steelers: Injury update
Bengal
- DT BJ Hill (undisclosed) is listed as OUT for Sunday’s game
Steels
- WR Michael Pittman Jr. (leg) is listed as questionable for Sunday’s game
- RB Rico Dowdle (undisclosed) is listed as questionable for Sunday’s game
- CB Joey Porter Jr. (back) is listed as questionable for Sunday’s game
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