Pro Picks: Bengals will edge Steelers in battle for first place in the AFC North

Aaron Rodgers and the Steelers face Joe Burrow and the Bengals with first place in the AFC North at stake.

The Sunday night matchup is the only primetime game in Week 9 featuring two winning teams.

Rodgers outplayed Burrow in Pittsburgh’s 30-27 victory in Week 3. The Steelers (6-2) have won four straight and are coming off a bye. The Bengals (6-2) also have won four in a row and are back after a trip to Spain, where they beat Atlanta.

That’s an advantage for Pittsburgh.

Burrow is 4-4 in his career against the Steelers.

The Bengals are 3½-point favorites. Pro Picks sees a close game.

BENGALS: 24-23

Line: Giants minus 1½

The Commanders missed a chance to win the first meeting last month because they screwed up the clock and settled for a tie. Jayden Daniels is 3-0-1 against the Giants. He has to watch out for Arvell Reese, who had three sacks last week against Philadelphia. J.J. McCarthy makes his first home start for the Giants and Cam Skattebo is expected to return from a hamstring injury. McCarthy hasn’t thrown a TD pass in his two starts. The Giants lost 10 straight games on Thursday nights before beating the Eagles last year.

GIANTS: 23-19

Line: Lions minus 2½

Drake Maye and Christian Gonzalez struggled in a lopsided loss at home to Green Bay. The Patriots need their QB and star cornerback to play well to have a chance against Detroit. Jared Goff’s streak of 30 consecutive regular-season games with at least one TD pass ended last week in a win at Miami. The Lions have won five straight games after a 1-2 start.

LIONS: 26-22

Line: Bills minus 8½

Buffalo has won five straight in this series and 10 of 12 since 2020. Josh Allen has 21 TDs combined passing and rushing this season. The Bills have played much better defense the past two weeks. Jets rookie edge rusher David Bailey has 7½ sacks and five forced fumbles in eight games.

BILLS: 24-17

Line: Saints minus 2½

Two losing teams battling for first place is common in the weak NFC South. The Panthers are reeling following three straight losses. But QB Bryce Young has played some of his best football this season. He’ll face plenty of pressure from the Saints. Chase Young and Carl Granderson have combined for 15½ sacks. New Orleans swept the series last year after Tyler Shough took over as starting QB.

UPSET SPECIAL: PANTHERS: 23-20

Line: Texans minus 4½

C.J. Stroud has 16 TD passes with only two interceptions and the Texans have won three of four after an 0-4 start. A defense that sacked Justin Herbert eight times could have a big day against an offensive line that’s allowed 38 sacks. Shedeur Sanders played well last week filling in, but Deshaun Watson will start. The Browns are 3-0 at home and begin a stretch of four straight in front of the Dawg Pound.

TEXANS: 20-17

Line: Jaguars minus 10½

The Jaguars were aggressive at the trade deadline, bolstering a defense that’s allowed just 15.1 points per game. Trevor Lawrence leads an offense that’s fourth in scoring (28.6 points). The Titans are coming off a bye following an impressive performance by Cam Ward in an overtime loss to the Bengals. But they traded another top defensive player, sending safety Amani Hooker to Buffalo. The Jaguars swept the season series in each of the last two years.

JAGUARS: 30-16

Line: Chiefs minus 3½

Patrick Mahomes has a new receiver after the Chiefs acquired Josh Downs. Kenneth Walker III has five 100-yard rushing games already for Kansas City. The Falcons have All-Pro running back Bijan Robinson, who leads the NFL with 880 yards rushing in one more game played than Walker. Atlanta has lost four of five, traded Bates and is coming off a game in Spain.

BEST BET: CHIEFS: 26-17

Line: Colts minus 3½

Kyle McCord will make his first career start for the Dolphins, who placed Malik Willis on injured reserve this week. The Colts traded Downs and Keenan Allen but Daniel Jones and Jonathan Taylor remain in Indianapolis. They’ll need some receivers to step up. Shane Steichen is coaching for his job after losing 14 of 16 going back to last season.

COLTS: 22-16

Line: Packers minus 3½

Kirk Cousins is back with the Vikings. He played for Kevin O’Connell in 2022-23 so he knows the offense. Minnesota has a championship-caliber defense and hopes Cousins can fix its offensive woes. Jordan Love was nearly flawless last week at New England and leads the NFL in passing. Green Bay’s Christian Watson and Matthew Golden are Nos. 3 and 4 in yards receiving. The Packers are last in the competitive NFC North despite a .667 winning percentage. The Vikings won the first matchup in Week 1.

PACKERS: 23-22

Line: Rams minus 9½

Matthew Stafford won’t have Puka Nacua for at least a month and Davante Adams is already out, so the Rams will need to rely more on Kyren Williams and the run game along with a stout defense. Myles Garrett had three sacks in his first game back and he’ll be going against a QB making his NFL debut. Rookie Carson Beck replaces Gardner Minshew, who was placed on injured reserve. Beck won’t have top receiver Michael Wilson, who also went on IR. The Cardinals beat the Rams 18-16 in Los Angeles last month but coach Sean McVay is 16-4 vs. Arizona.

RAMS: 26-13

Line: Seahawks minus 6½

Drew Lock fills in again for Sam Darnold while No. 1 overall pick Fernando Mendoza makes his first career start going against the defending Super Bowl champions. It’ll be a difficult matchup for the reigning Heisman Trophy winner. Mendoza, who led Indiana to a national championship, faces the league’s top-ranked defense.

SEAHAWKS: 23-13

Line: 49ers minus 4½

The 49ers added another veteran receiver in Allen to join their injury-riddled group that could start seeing guys return. That’ll be a big boost for an offense led by Brock Purdy, Christian McCaffery and George Kittle. The up-and-down Cowboys haven’t been consistent enough on offense or defense. They can score plenty of points and give them up, too.

49ERS: 30-27

Line: Ravens minus 4½

The winless Chargers have to win a game eventually. Justin Herbert is having a miserable season but he’s too talented to go 0-17. The Ravens have lost four straight and are turning to Jacoby Brissett after losing Lamar Jackson and Tyler Huntley to injuries and giving Joe Fagnano his first career start.

RAVENS: 23-20.

Last week: Straight up: 14-1. Against spread: 10-5.

Overall: Straight up: 90-46-1. Against spread: 77-57-3.

Best Bet: Straight up: 6-3. Against spread: 5-4.

Upset Special: Straight up: 4-5. Against spread: 4-5.

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