Sunday Night Football has a clash of AFC North titans on its hands when the Pittsburgh Steelers (6-2) go to Paycor Stadium to face a red-hot Cincinnati Bengals (6-2) squad. Both Cincinnati and Pittsburgh have won four straight games and are tied atop the division. Pittsburgh is coming off a bye week, and with Mike Tomlin, the Steelers were an NFL-best 17-5 following the break since 2007, but this is Mike McCarthy’s team now.
Pittsburgh entered the bye week on their longest winning streak since 2024. The Steelers beat the Colts (34-22), Buccaneers (26-19 OT), Saints (16-10), and Browns (27-6). Those four teams have a combined 13-22 record, and only Cleveland has a winning record (5-4).
The Steelers beat the Bengals 30-27 in the first meeting and haven’t swept Cincinnati since 2023. The Steelers have won three of their last five. However, slowing down Joe Burrow won’t be easy. Cincinnati has beaten Miami (31-24), Baltimore (35-13), Tennessee (43-36 OT), and Atlanta (34-17) during the four-game winning streak, and Burrow has averaged 303.7 passing yards per game with 16 touchdowns and three interceptions.
In the Bengals’ latest win over the Falcons, Burrow threw for 271 yards on 24-of-29 and three touchdowns; all three scores going to Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins, plus 155 of those yards to Chase alone. The Bengals’ recipe likely won’t change as they haven’t found much success on the ground and appear to be losing faith in giving Chase Brown rushing attempts. Chase has 13 or fewer carries in six straight games and recorded a season-low nine rushing attempts against Atlanta.
Against the Steelers, Burrow posted 282 passing yards and three touchdowns on 28-of-37 this season. Chase and Higgins both had 90-plus yards and scored a touchdown. That recipe likely stays the same in the showdown on Sunday Night!
Let’s dive into the numbers and see if we can’t find an additional sweat or two.
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Game details and how to watch Steelers vs Bengals
· Date: Sunday, November 15, 2026
· Time: 8:20 PM ET
· Site: Paycor Stadium
· City: Cincinnati, OH
· TV/Streaming: NBC | Peacock
NBC Sports is your home for all the latest updates on this matchup, featuring live odds, player news, expert analysis, and predictions.
Latest Game Odds for Bengals at Steelers
The latest odds courtesy of DraftKings:
· Money line: Pittsburgh Steelers (+150), Cincinnati Bengals (-180)
· Spread: Bengals -3.5 (-110)
· Total: 49.5
There has been no movement on the spread, but the total has ticked up from 47.5 to 49.5. In the first meeting, Cincinnati was a -3.5 point favorite and the game total was 42.5. Pittsburgh won 30-27 as a home underdog covering the +3.5 and cashing the Over 42.5.
NBC Sports Bet Best Bets
Expert picks & predictions for Bengals vs Steelers
Vaughn Dalzell (@VmoneySports) leans the Under 49.5:
It may be November, but this game will feel like a December or January clash with playoff implications. The winner will be in first place in the AFC North, and the Steelers are in an advantageous spot, coming off the bye week on the road, and shooting for the sweep. The Steelers have been money for years coming out of the bye week with Mike Tomlin, but I am not 100-percent confident here. If the public is on Pittsburgh, I’ll like Cincinnati and vice versa. The Bengals are a ridiculous 18-5-1 ATS since 2019 when at a rest disadvantage, which leads the NFL, so I lean with Cincy, but the better bet may be going Under 49.5.
The total for the first meeting was 42.5, and it was 17-17 at the half. This time around, oddsmakers raised the game total by seven points, and the Bengals are -3.5 point favorites, which is interesting. The Bengals were -3.5 point favorites in Pittsburgh and lost, and at home, Cincinnati is a -3.5 point favorite against Pittsburgh. The spread is either a trap or confidence from oddsmakers. I’d rather back the Under and bet on Pittsburgh’s offense to be out of rhythm or rusty following the bye week, or Cincinnati to have a down performance after averaging 7.1 yards per play versus Atlanta. I lean the Under 49.5.
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Steelers vs Bengals betting trends and stats
Steelers betting trends
- Pittsburgh is 6-2 ATS, tied for second-best
- Pittsburgh is 4-4 to the Over
- Pittsburgh is 1-2 ATS and 2-1 to the Over on the road
- Pittsburgh is an NFL-best 17-5 on the ML following a bye week since 2007
- Pittsburgh is 6-0 ATS in the last six games following a bye week
- Pittsburgh is 8-0 on the ML in the last eight games following a bye week
- Pittsburgh is 6-6 ATS and 7-5 to the Over as an underdog since 2025
- Pittsburgh is 2-1 ATS and 2-1 to the Over in division games
- Pittsburgh is 6-3 ATS and 5-4 to the Over in division games
Bengals betting trends
- Cincinnati is 4-4 ATS
- Cincinnati is 5-3 to the Over, tied for fourth-best
- Cincinnati is 1-2 ATS and 2-1 to the Over at home
- Cincinnati is 3-4 ATS and 5-2 to the Over as a favorite
- Cincinnati is 38-25-1 to the Over as a favorite with Zac Taylor, ranking second-best since 2019
- Cincinnati is 25-13 to the Over as a home favorite since 2019, ranking fourth-best
- Cincinnati is 29-30-4 ATS as a favorite and 18-18-2 ATS as a home favorite since 2019
- Cincinnati is 20-24-1 ATS versus division opponents since 2019 and 1-1 ATS this season
- Cincinnati is 24-20-1 to the Over versus division opponents since 2019 and 2-0 to the Over this season
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Quarterback matchup for Steelers vs Bengals
· Pittsburgh: Aaron Rodgers – A-Rod is coming off his fewest completions (13) and yards (172) of the season against Cleveland, but came out with a 27-6 win. Rodgers took a season-low one sack and had his second and third longest plays of the year (51, 58). Through eight games, Rodgers ranks second in deep pass attempts (37), first in man coverage throw rate (55.7%), and has the third-most dropped passes (16).
One area he’s benefited from is yards after catch. The Steelers have the second-best YAC (6.4) on Rodgers’ throws, and those will be areas of focus for the Bengals, who run the fifth-most man coverage (27.2%). Rodgers had season highs of 292 yards and three touchdowns, plus one interception on 19-of-34 in the earlier meeting with Cincinnati. Let’s see if they can come near those numbers in round two.
· Cincinnati: Joe Burrow – Burrow is having an MVP season, and lately, he’s been nearly impossible to stop. Last week, Burrow went 24-of-29 for 271 yards and three touchdowns. Burrow almost had as many touchdowns (3) as incompletions (5) last week. He leads the NFL in completion percentage (74%) and has completed at least 70% of his passes in seven out of eight games, including six straight.
Burrow has the second-best passer rating (110.7) and completion percentage (76.4%) versus zone coverage this season, and he will see a lot of it. Pittsburgh runs zone 81.9% of the time, ranking sixth-highest, and their 12.6% man coverage calls are the sixth-lowest. Burrow threw for 282 yards and three touchdowns on 28-of-37 in the first meeting and has an 18:10 TD-to-INT ratio for his career versus Pittsburgh. Burrow has 18 total touchdowns in the last four games with three picks, so this is a different level of Burrow the Pittsburgh defense is facing for a second time this season. Good luck, from a Steelers fan!
Steelers vs Bengals Injury Update
Bengals injuries
- LG Dylan Fairchild is questionable (pectoral)
- CB DJ Turner is questionable (ankle)
- S Kyle Dugger is questionable (quad)
Steelers injuries
- WR Ben Skowronek is questionable (calf)
- S DeShon Elliott is questionable (ankle)
- DT Derrick Harmon (foot) has practiced and is designated for return
- WR Michael Pittman (foot) is nearing a return from IR
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