Despite their opponent also boasting an 0-3 record and missing a star quarterback, the Cincinnati Bengals are underdogs in the opening Week 4 lines.
The winless Bengals are 4.5-point underdogs on an over/under of 43.5 for Monday night’s game against the Pittsburgh Steelers (odds via BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds).
This game taking place on the road, in primetime and against the Steelers doesn’t help matters.
Had the first three weeks of the season played out differently, oddsmakers might have been more willing to ignore Cincinnati’s brutal recent history on prime time and against the Steelers.
As it stands, the Bengals have fluctuated between competitive and downright awful over the first three weeks, so the fact the Steelers won’t have Ben Roethlisberger on the field doesn’t matter much to oddsmakers.
Given the state of the Steelers, the Bengals aren’t the worst underdog bet of the week by any means. But betting a game between winless teams is always a risky decision.
