NFL Expert Picks: Who the experts are taking in Steelers vs. Bengals Week 8

You might be hard pressed to find a game on the Week 8 NFL schedule which is more difficult to pick than the Pittsburgh Steelers showdown with AFC North rival Cincinnati Bengals at Heinz Field. This 1:00 p.m. EDT kickoff has the makings of a great game, as the Bengals come to the Steel City with a perfect 6-0 record coming off a bye, and the 4-3 Steelers look to make their case within the division.

The status of Ben Roethlisberger is still uncertain, but early indications are the franchise quarterback, who has won two Super Bowls for Pittsburgh, will make his return from a MCL sprain suffered in the Week 3 game against the St. Louis Rams. This will be the first week the Steelers will have their full complement of offensive weapons at their disposal. Roethlisberger combined with Le'Veon Bell, Martavis Bryant, Antonio Brown and Heath Miller look to exploit a Bengals defense not known for shutting down the opposition.

As for the Bengals, their roster might be the most complete in the NFL. Andy Dalton is playing inspired football, and the cast of characters around him are noteworthy to say the least. It proves to make an interesting matchup, and a difficult game to predict. Time to see who the experts are taking in the huge AFC North game this Sunday.

At ESPN, their panel of experts are split on the winner of this game. 5 of their 12-person panel have the Steelers winning the game at home, while the majority believe the Bengals streak will stay alive as they improve to 7-0. If there is a trend among the experts, it would be indecision. Here at SB Nation, the 8-person panel is split half and half on who they think will be victorious in this game.

The trend continues at CBSSports.com, where their own 8-person panel is also split down the middle with who they predict will leave Heinz Field with a win. As ESPN favored the Bengals, FOXSports.com was the only site which favored Pittsburgh, with 5 of their 7 experts taking the black and gold this weekend.

Our friends at NFL Pick Watch, a website which tabulates all expert picks across the internet, have 54-percent of the experts picking Cincinnati in this Week 8 game.

If there was ever a coin toss game, it would be this one, but as the experts seem pretty close to split down the middle with this outcome, the arrow might be slightly tilted in the Bengals' favor. Should make for exciting television this Sunday at 1:00 p.m. EDT.