NFL Betting Preview: Pittsburgh at Cincinnati

If Carson Palmer and the Bengals can beat Pittsburgh on Sunday, they'll be right back in the AFC North race. (AI Wire Photo)

With a 2-4 start to their season, everyone's ready to throw the Cincinnati Bengals under the bus. But if they can manage a win over the Pittsburgh Steelers Sunday, they could be within a game of first place in the AFC North.

Obviously it'll be an intense, physical contest like all division games between the Bengals and Steelers have been in the past.

"We have to approach it just like another football game. But it's a division game. It's at home. They're leading the division," Bengals coach Marvin Lewis said. "That being said, that's where the intensity level is. Those things are important."

The Bengals were able to come from 13 down last weekend and defeat the New York Jets 38-31. But that's hardly an impressive feat, the Bengals defense gave up 31 points to an offense that ranks 28th in total offense. Lewis is hoping to keep his defense off the field as much as possible with a steady rushing attack.

"It's big," said Lewis. "It's something that for the last three years, we've really looked at hard in this division. To have a chance to be successful in our division, you've got to be able to run the football efficiently. We don't want it to become a one-dimensional game for us offensively."

They were successful on the ground last week. Kenny Watson was able to run for a career-high 130 yards and scored three TDs and Carson Palmer only had to attempt a season-low 21 passes.

The Pittsburgh Steelers are looking for a better outing than they had last weekend. Against Denver Sunday night the Steelers allowed season highs in points, total yards (324) and passing yards (234), and turned the ball over three times en route to a 31-28 loss.

"Coming off of a win and a bye, we just probably weren't focused," Steelers receiver Santonio Holmes said. "We could have made more plays. Having a bye week kind of hurts you. But at the same time, we just have to stay focused on the game."

Despite playing at home, the Cincinnati Bengals are four-point underdogs in the contest. Get your NFL odds in the Bodog Sportsbook.