Steelers watch from their bye as Bengals and Browns take the field in Week 9
The 6-2 Steelers are off in Week 9. Cincinnati and Cleveland play Sunday, and the result will shape the Steelers' Sunday night trip to Cincinnati.
The Pittsburgh Steelers are not playing on Week 9's 13-game Sunday. Their bye falls at the exact midpoint of the season, and they enter it at 6-2 with first place in the AFC North. Their two closest pursuers are both playing. ESPN's Sunday highlights tracker opens with the Cincinnati Bengals facing the Atlanta Falcons in Madrid at 9:30 a.m. ET. Later in the day, the Cleveland Browns visit the New Orleans Saints with Shedeur Sanders starting at quarterback.
The stakes for Pittsburgh are simple. According to USA TODAY Sports, Cincinnati is 5-2 and Cleveland is 5-3, with Baltimore at 4-4. A Bengals win in Spain would leave them half a game back when Pittsburgh visits them on Nov. 15. A Browns win would keep a third team within a game of the lead. Every division result this week shifts that order, and the Steelers have no game of their own to answer with.
Mike McCarthy's team got to this point with four straight wins. The Steelers have scored 180 points and allowed 144 over eight games. Over the last four, the defense gave up 22, 19, 10 and 6 points. USA TODAY credits first-year coordinator Patrick Graham's shift toward zone coverage and notes the unit had eight sacks in the 27-6 win over Cleveland. On offense, Aaron Rodgers has leaned on a short, quick passing game while receivers Michael Pittman Jr. and Roman Wilson have been hurt, and Jaylen Warren has carried the running game. T.J. Watt has called Warren a "bowling ball with teeth," according to USA TODAY. The week off gives those receivers time to heal.
What it means for Cincinnati
The Steelers return on Sunday Night Football on NBC on Nov. 15 for a rematch with the Bengals. Pittsburgh won the first meeting 30-27 on Sept. 27, the third game of its season. It has struggled more on the road, though. Two losses came away from home, 20-3 at New England and 27-24 at Cleveland. The road wins came at Tampa Bay, 26-19. After Cincinnati, the Steelers stay on the road at Philadelphia.
On this site's board for the game, the six venues have Cincinnati favored even before its Madrid result is in. Novig has the Bengals at -156, and the best price anywhere on Cincinnati is Kalshi's -148. On the Steelers' side, Novig is at +125 and DraftKings is the high mark at +150. That 25-cent gap on the underdog is the widest split on the board. The spread runs from Bengals -3 at FanDuel to Steelers +3.5 at DraftKings, both at -110. The total is 47.5 across the board. Novig lists the over at -117 and the under at even money, and BetRivers has the best over price at -107. Sportsbook hold on these markets runs from 3.9% to 5.1%.
Those numbers could change by kickoff, starting with the Bengals' result on Sunday morning. Season results and schedule updates are on the Steelers team page.
