The Pittsburgh Penguins have an important matchup this weekend against division rival Cincinnati Bengals. I'm not going to pretend that I know what's going to happen, so let's export these picks to some of the experts. First up, the guys at Sporting News.
The Bengals are missing a key player in cornerback Leon Hall, but the Steelers are likely to be without their most irreplaceable defensive player, safety Troy Polamalu. With tough sledding in the running game, the burdens fall on Dalton and Roethlisberger. While Big Ben gets big plays with Mike Wallace and Antonio Brown, Dalton will get into a groove with A.J. Green and Jermaine Gresham. The Steelers have escaped challenges through 12 weeks, so they're simply due to lose one. Dalton has been cool on the road and will notch his first signature win. Bengals 23, Steelers 20.
That's all well and good for those of us who play straight pick 'ems, but what about the guys who like to make the games a little more interesting, if you know what I mean. Here are betting guidelines from Vegas Betting Lines.
Even though the Bengals proved that they could keep up with the Steelers in their first meeting and really need this win, the Week 13 NFL Football spread is still set at more than a touchdown, which considering the recent results for both teams seems unrealistic. Pittsburgh needs this win to keep up with the Ravens in the battle for the division, but that doesn’t mean that Cincinnati won’t at the least keep this one close.
They go on to pick the Bengals in this matchup, despite them being the significant underdog.
For more on the Steelers, check out Behind The Steel Curtain. For more on the Bengals there's Cincy Jungle. For more on this game, stick to this StoryStream.