The Cincinnati Bengals will visit the Pittsburgh Steelers in a key AFC playoff battle. The 8-6 Bengals would improve their playoff odds from 47% to 66% with a win — but those odds would plummet to 20% with a loss. The 7-7 Steelers have just a 10% shot at the playoffs, and those odds would improve slightly to 15% with a win, but they would collapse to less than 1% with a loss. Let’s dive into the best Bengals-Steelers player prop picks and anytime touchdown scorer bets for Saturday, including a pick for Mason Rudolph. Take a look at OddsShopper’s model for the most up-to-date odds and additional picks — and make sure to use promo code “GIFT” to save 33% at checkout!
Bengals-Steelers Player Props & Anytime Touchdown Bet | Saturday
Bengals-Steelers Odds for Saturday
Odds via bet365
Bebgals: -155 | Steelers: +130
Bengals -2.5: -120 | Steelers +2.5: +100
Over 38: -110 | Under 38: -110
Time: Saturday, Dec. 23 at 4:25 p.m. ET
Bengals-Steelers Player Prop Pick
Mason Rudolph O/U 190.5 Passing Yards
A guy named Rudolph — Mason Rudolph — cashing a ticket for us in the leadup to Christmas? It sounds too good to be true, but that’s what we’re hoping for come Saturday. While Rudolph is the third-string quarterback in Pittsburgh for a reason, he isn’t that bad.
Rudolph has made 10 starts for the Steelers dating back to 2019. He threw for over 190.5 yards seven times. He even cleared the 200-yard threshold six times, too.
While the Steelers teams that Rudolph quarterbacked in the past were better than this one, he still has a capable cast of receivers at his disposal. Diontae Johnson and George Pickens both have the potential to generate explosive plays. Johnson has a 25-plus yard reception in seven of his 10 appearances this year. Pickens has one in seven of his 14.
Rudolph will take on a Cincinnati Bengals defense that just can’t stop opposing quarterbacks. The Bengals just allowed Nick Mullens to rack up 303 passing yards. The week before, they coughed up 240 to Gardner Minshew. Pittsburgh’s own Kenny Pickett even racked up a season-high 278 passing yards against them in late November. The Bengals haven’t kept an opposing passer under 200 yards since Joshua Dobbs in early October. Don’t expect that streak to end now — especially with so much on the line for Mike Tomlin and the Steelers.
Bengals-Steelers Player Prop Pick: Mason Rudolph 200+ Passing Yards +110 at DraftKings
Bengals-Steelers Model Player Prop
Trenton Irwin O/U 17.5 Receiving Yards
Now that you’ve read about my pick, let’s turn to what OddsShopper’s model wants action on. It recommends targeting Trenton Irwin on the receiving yards market because of a big odds disparity between bet365, Caesars and the rest of the rest of the market. You’ll find the under 17.5 priced at +100 (50%) on bet365 and at -104 (51%) at Caesars but at -136 (57.6%) on Pinnacle, a sharp book. The true odds ultimately point to value as they clock in at -114 (53.7%).
How does the model work? OddsShopper’s Premium tools index the odds across the market, weigh odds for the sharpness of each book and then adjust for hold. The result is the wager’s true odds, which it then compares to the actual odds to identify +EV wagers. And yes, it’s profitable — just look at Greg Ehrenberg’s betting results!
Bengals-Steelers Player Prop Pick: Trenton Irwin Under 17.5 Receiving Yards +100 at bet365
Bengals-Steelers Anytime Touchdown Scorer Pick
Clown me all you want, but we’re trusting Mason Rudolph to find paydirt on Saturday, too. The Pittsburgh Steelers should get close to the end zone a few times, as the Cincinnati Bengals rank 31st in trips to the red zone allowed per game (3.9). That should offset a terrible Pittsburgh offense that ranks 30th in red-zone trips per game (3.1).
Once the Steelers get close to the goal line, who will they turn to? Running back Najee Harris has been awful. He has turned 14 carries inside the 10-yard line into four scores. The Steelers have only let him carry the rock five times inside the five, and he scored just twice. Their other running back, Jaylen Warren, has five carries inside the 10 and two inside the five — none of which turned into scores.
The Steelers have often turned to their quarterbacks in goal-to-go situations. Kenny Pickett ran the ball inside the five twice and scored once. Mitchell Trubisky ran the ball inside the five three times and scored twice. Their three scores on five tries, a 60% hit rate, is far better than the two scores on seven tries (28.6%) Warren and Harris have managed close to paydirt.
Rudolph has never found the end zone on a sneak before, but his odds of doing so come Saturday are shorter than the +850 (10.5%) you’ll find at FanDuel. Pinnacle, a sharp book, is taking action on this one at +727 (12.1%). Pittsburgh’s offense has been one of the least effective in the NFL this season, but that cuts in our favor against an atrocious defense like Cincinnati’s — especially since the Bengals have already allowed four rushing touchdowns to quarterbacks this year.
Bengals-Steelers Anytime Touchdown Scorer Bet: Mason Rudolph +850 at FanDuel
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