Steelers vs. Bengals betting preview: Odds, picks, props, trends, injuries, weather and more for Week 7 Thursday Night Football

For the fifth straight week, the NFL Thursday Night Football game on Prime Video is an intradivisional affair. It also will be very unique quarterback matchup as 41-year-old Aaron Rodgers (4-1) and the Pittsburgh Steelers visit 40-year-old Joe Flacco and the Cincinnati Bengals (2-4). The Steelers are -5.5 with a total of 44.5 for the 8:15 ET kick, and the weather looks perfect for fall football. 

This will mark the third regular-season game in the modern era between two starting QBs age 40 or older -- it is humorously being referred to as the "Icy Hot Bowl" -- and the first not involving Tom Brady or Drew Brees, as the first two were between Brady's Buccaneers and Brees' Saints in the 2020 COVID season. They also met in the playoffs. 

Cincinnati has very little hope of making the playoffs with the way the offense has looked under Jake Browning and then Flacco since superstar QB Joe Burrow went down in Week 2, and he's still many weeks from returning. The SportsLine Projection Model now gives Cincy a win total of just 6.2 and a 5.9% shot at making the postseason, which equates to +1595. The books only have the Bengals at 5.5 wins but +1000 for the playoffs. This game could go a long way toward Cincinnati at least having a shot when Burrow returns, as the Bengals certainly could win their next two at home vs. the Jets and Bears (both on CBS) before a bye week.

It's not out of the question that Pittsburgh could the AFC for the first time 2010, which is when the franchise lost to Rodgers and the Packers in Super Bowl XLV. I certainly wouldn't bet on that happening, but the Steelers are catching a major break already due to both Cincinnati and Baltimore dealing with serious injuries. The AFC North is there to be won, and the Steelers already have a three-game lead in the loss column.

The model ranks Mike Tomlin's club at No. 9 in its league-wide power rankings entering Week 7 with a season wins total of 10.7, an 87.8% chance to win the division title (equates to -720), a 92.5% chance to make the playoffs (-1233) and a 16.5% chance to win the AFC crown (+506). The books give the Steelers a wins total of 9.5, -320 for the postseason, -190 for the division and +1100 for the conference.

We'll take you through every aspect of the Eagles vs. Giants game that you need to know before you lock in your bets, including SportsLine expert picks, props, trends, DFS, injury information and everything else that will help you know which plays are worth making for the primetime matchup.

Who wins Steelers vs. Bengals in the Week 7 Thursday night game, and what critical X-factor makes one side of the spread hit HARD? Join SportsLine right now to see everything you need to know to dominate your Thursday Night Football bets, plus get expert picks, model sims, prop bets, DFS lineups, and more!