NFL Expert Picks: Bengals are favored, but experts still believe in the Steelers

The Pittsburgh Steelers and Cincinnati Bengals are slated to face off in Week 12 of the 2021 regular season, and there are a lot of narratives between these two teams. For the Bengals, they are wondering if Joe Burrow can continue to improve and guide this team to the playoffs, while the Steelers are a team trying to forge a new identity as they hope to right the ship and remain relevant in both the AFC North and AFC Playoff Picture.

For those who follow the current betting lines, the Steelers opened as 4.5-point underdogs, and, according to DraftKings Sportsbook, that line has moved from 4.5-points to 4.0-points, largely due to players like T.J. Watt, Joe Haden and Minkah Fitzpatrick all returning to practices this week.

(Odds/lines subject to change. T&Cs apply. See draftkings.com/sportsbook for details.)

At this point, it is time to check in and see who the pundits who call themselves experts like in this showdown in Cincinnati this Sunday.

For those new to this article, there are two types of experts when it comes to NFL picks. There are those who just pick the overall winner, and those who expound on their picks and give a reason for their prediction.

As for the former of the above types of experts, there are many sites who have their experts just plug in a winner and move on with their day. Of those sites, the majority of experts at Yahoo!, ESPN and FOX like the Bengals to win, but it isn’t unanimous. Several of these sites have a handful of experts who still believe the Steelers can pull off the upset.

As for the experts who actually put some thoughts, and explanation behind their picks, like Pete Prisco of CBS Sports, he likes the Bengals to hold serve in Week 12.

This is an enormous division game for these two. The Steelers have some defensive injuries, which will be in play here. The Bengals impressed coming off their bye last week and I think the momentum will carry over. The Bengals will win it as Joe Burrow has a big game

Pick: Bengals 28, Steelers 21

As for Gregg Rosenthal of NFL.com, he sees the Steelers pulling off the road win over their AFC North rivals.

The Steelers are expected to get T.J. Watt, Joe Haden and Minkah Fitzpatrick back this week, which means Pittsburgh’s defense should start to resemble its usual form again. Ben Roethlisberger is also trending up, but this pick is less about logic and more about Mike Tomlin. I have bought in to his weekly press conferences, and I don’t even play for the team. There is something impressive about this proud, weird Steelers team, and games like this — as well as the Steelers-Browns game from a few weeks ago — are more about the bones of the organization and its great head coach than they are about any X’s and O’s.

Pick: Steelers 23, Bengals 21

As for Bill Bender of The Sporting News, he likes the Bengals to do the job at home in on Sunday.

Could the Bengals sweep the Steelers in a season? Pittsburgh’s defensive injuries are hard to overcome vs diverse and multiple offenses, something the home team has for sure in Joe Burrow, Joe Mixon and J’Marr Chase. Cincinnati’s defense has some holes but can win the key battle up front to coll down Ben Roethlisberger.

Pick: Bengals win 27-24

These are just a few sites who make weekly NFL picks. When you think about all those sites not listed above, this is when we turn to our friends at NFL Pick Watch, a site dedicated to tracking NFL expert picks by the week. They take all expert picks and put them into an easy-to-read graph for fans to enjoy. When it comes to the Steelers vs. Bengals game, 76% of NFL experts like the Bengals to hold serve and win on Sunday.

What do you think about the upcoming game? Will the experts have it right? Or are they way off? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below, and be sure to stay tuned to BTSC for the latest news and notes surrounding the black and gold as they prepare for the Bengals in Week 12.