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NFL · Week 3 · 2026 Final Division game

Bengals at Steelers

Sun, 27 Sep 2026 · 17:00 UTC
Cincinnati Bengals logo
Cincinnati
Bengals
2-0 · W2
27
@
Pittsburgh Steelers logo
Pittsburgh
Steelers
1-1 · L1
30
Cincinnati Bengals to win 50% win probability · projected 24–24 · Coin Flip

Result & Grading

Published before kickoff, graded after. No edits, no quiet deletions.

Final score
27–30
CIN at PIT
Our pick
CIN ✗
Missed
Margin error
3.1
points from our projection
Against the spread
Covered ✓
vs line of CIN −3.5

Pre-Game Win Probabilities

From the engine's power ratings, adjusted for home field and rest, then mapped through the margin distribution. Not a blend of the market — this is our own number.

CIN 50%
PIT 50%
Projected score
24–24
CIN at PIT
Projected margin
-0.1
home perspective
Projected total
47.2
combined points
Confidence
Coin Flip
published before kickoff

Engine vs The Line

We agree with the market on the winner. The margins may still differ.

8th Day Engine
Cincinnati Bengals
by 0.1 points · total 47.2
Closing line
Cincinnati Bengals
by 3.5 points · total 42.5

Matchup Facts

Venue and rest come from the schedule feed and feed directly into the model; surface and weather are context we show but don't yet model.

Venue
Acrisure Stadium
Roof
Outdoors
Surface
Grass
Temperature
70°F
Wind
12 mph
Rest · CIN
7 days
Rest · PIT
7 days
QB · CIN
Joe Burrow
QB · PIT
Aaron Rodgers

Recent Form

Last five completed games this season, most recent first.

Cincinnati Bengals

W @ HOU 20–6
W vs TB 33–27

Pittsburgh Steelers

L @ NE 3–20
W vs ATL 20–13

Season Scoring

Points per game either side of the ball, 2026 season to date.

CIN · scored
26.5
per game · 2 played
CIN · allowed
16.5
per game
PIT · scored
11.5
per game · 2 played
PIT · allowed
16.5
per game

How The Model Sees It

Our rating has Cincinnati Bengals as the stronger side by 37 rating points, which on its own is worth about 1.5 points on the scoreboard (CIN 1,544, PIT 1,507).

Home field adds 1.4 points to PIT — a measured figure from our backtest, not the traditional three, because home advantage in the modern NFL is considerably smaller than it used to be.

That lands on a projected margin of -0.1, and running that through the historical spread of actual results against projections gives Cincinnati Bengals at 50%.

The closing line agrees on the winner, making Cincinnati Bengals favourite by 3.5 against our 0.1.

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