Steelers vs. Bengals. AFC North matchup. Playoff implications for both teams. This might be a bloodbath. Cincinnati heads into Pittsburgh as a two-point road favorite on DraftKings Sportsbook and the game total is set at O/U 48 points.
The Bengals have won four straight games but are in need of extra help from other teams in order to clinch a playoff spot. The Steelers will closely monitor the outcome of the Ravens vs. Browns game but considering Baltimore is currently a 20-point home favorite, I am assuming that Mike Tomlin and his team will be playing to win.
That said, who will be the first touchdown scorer in Steelers vs. Bengals? Please read below for my top choice with analysis.
Cincinnati Bengals at Pittsburgh Steelers
Ja’Marr Chase First TD Scorer (+500)
I am fully expecting this game to either be incredibly low-scoring or high-scoring––no in-between. But, I don’t think it’s possible for Joe Burrow to be involved in a low-scoring affair at this point and Cincinnati has put together quite the run over the past four weeks. It was quite the headache to decide between Chase and Tee Higgins finding the end zone first but I’m sticking with the WR1 and Burrow’s favorite target, especially when playing on the road.
Chase has only scored the first touchdown once this season but has found the end zone at least once in 10/16 games and 5/8 road games. More importantly, Burrow has leaned on him heavily on the road with Chase garnering at least 11 targets and averaging 3.4 first-quarter targets in four straight road games. The Burrow-to-Chase connection feels inevitable at this point and it’s simply too hard to fade a guy that has caught eight touchdowns in just the last five road games.
While Higgins is clearly the preferred red zone target, Chase has still converted 20 of his red zone receptions into seven touchdowns this season. The Steelers’ defense ranks in the middle of the pack when it comes to red zone scoring percentage but the Bengals field the fourth-best red zone scoring offense. I don’t know about you but I’m hoping for a bomb to Chase on the first drive to make this bet as sweat-free as possible.
