Steelers head to Cincinnati as Bengals return from Madrid rout with first place on the line

The Pittsburgh Steelers now know exactly who they are chasing. Cincinnati came home from Spain with a 34-17 win over the Atlanta Falcons at Bernabéu Stadium in Madrid, according to Bengals.com. That pulls the Bengals level with Pittsburgh at 6-2 ahead of Sunday night's meeting at Paycor Stadium, a game that will decide who sits alone atop the AFC North.

The Cincinnati offense looked sharp in Madrid. Jason Garrison of SB Nation counted scores on six of the Bengals' eight meaningful drives, four of them touchdowns. Joe Burrow went 24 of 29 for 271 yards and three touchdown passes. Two went to Tee Higgins and one was a deep ball to Ja'Marr Chase, who finished with 10 catches for 155 yards. Chase Brown also gave the Bengals the run game they had been missing, breaking a 19-yard carry that is the team's longest of the season and helping run out the clock in the fourth quarter.

Cincinnati's defense still has holes for Pittsburgh to work on. The Bengals failed to record a sack for the first time this season, with Cashius Howell on injured reserve and most of the edge snaps going to Boye Mafe and Myles Murphy. Dexter Lawrence, acquired in an offseason trade, did not pile up numbers but kept pressure on Michael Penix Jr. from the interior. Garrison wrote that Cincinnati could use depth at cornerback and linebacker, though he doubted the team would make a move before Tuesday's 4 p.m. Eastern trade deadline. He also called Sunday's matchup "one of the biggest games to be played there in the last several seasons."

What it means for Sunday night

Pittsburgh brings a four-game winning streak into Cincinnati. The Steelers have beaten Indianapolis 34-22, Tampa Bay 26-19 on the road, New Orleans 16-10 and Cleveland 27-6 since their 27-24 loss in Cleveland. The defense has given up 16 points or fewer in three of the last four games. Pittsburgh already beat the Bengals once, 30-27 at home in Week 3, but Cincinnati's offense has been far more productive since then. As NBC Chicago noted, the division lead is at stake in the NBC broadcast. A Pittsburgh win would give the Steelers a two-game edge in the head-to-head tiebreaker along with sole possession of first place.

The market still favors the home team. On this site's game board, which tracks 11 venues, the Bengals are favored at -186 on the moneyline at Novig. The best price anywhere on Cincinnati is DraftKings at -180. Pittsburgh is +178 at Novig. On the spread, Cincinnati is favored by 3.5 points, priced at -106 at Novig and -104 at Pinnacle, the best available. The Steelers at +3.5 are +102 at Novig. The total sits at 48.5, with the over at -102 and the under at -100 at Novig. The gaps between venues are small, and sportsbook hold runs from 3.2% to 5.1% on the moneyline and 2.9% to 4.8% on the spread.

That 48.5 total is higher than any combined score in five of Pittsburgh's eight games. It suggests the market expects Cincinnati's offense to push the Steelers into a higher-scoring game than the one they have won with lately.