The underdog status of the Cincinnati Bengals on Monday Night Football against the Pittsburgh Steelers has only become more amplified in recent days.
Cincinnati started as 12-point underdogs when opening lines went out. That’s a huge line in of itself because home teams just don’t sit as underdogs by that great of a margin often.
Then the team announced the Bengals will start Ryan Finley under center in relief of Brandon Allen, who was playing in relief of Joe Burrow.
And it’s now a bit historic.
Over at BetMGM, the Bengals are now 14.5-point underdogs, a massive disparity usually reserved for the worst of the worst — and even then, not typically at home.
How bad is it? As The Athletic’s Jay Morrison pointed out, the Bengals are only the 12th team in the past decade to squeak past the two-touchdown margin at home:
The #Bengals will be the 12th team in the last 10 years to be underdogs of at least 14 points at home.@pfref pic.twitter.com/we1oaVZ3tr
— Jay Morrison (@JayMorrisonATH) December 19, 2020
The initial 12-point line wasn’t too outlandish, even if the Steelers have lost two in a row. But with Finley under center, it only makes sense for the line to get bigger considering the coaching staff saw enough of him over just a few attempts before handing things over to Allen.
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