Week 7 of the NFL season will begin with a Thursday Night Football matchup between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Cincinnati Bengals on October 16. Kickoff is set for 8:15 p.m. ET. The game will broadcast live on Prime Video.
Our player props for Thursday Night Football are targeting Ja'Marr Chase, DK Metcalf, Aaron Rodgers and Jonnu Smith.
Let's dive into our Steelers vs Bengals player props for Thursday night.
Steelers vs Bengals Player Props
- QB Aaron Rodgers Over 216.5 Passing Yards (-110 at bet365)
- TE Jonnu Smith Over 25.5 Receiving Yards (-110 at bet365)
- WR Ja'Marr Chase Over 6.5 Receptions (-120 at bet365)
- WR DK Metcalf Anytime Touchdown (+145 at FanDuel)
Steelers vs Bengals Prop Picks, Preview
Aaron Rodgers Over 216.5 Passing Yards (-110)
Heading into Thursday Night Football, there’s one real weakness in the Bengals’ defense: their inability to stop the pass.
Only three teams are averaging more passing yards allowed against them each week than the Bengals; Cincinnati also averages two touchdown passes allowed per game.
With that in mind, there are potentially different angles to back Aaron Rodgers, but it’s the over on his passing yards total that makes the most sense.
Rodgers’ passing yards total stands at 216.5, which is way below the average allowed by the Bengals (259). Rodgers hasn’t lit up the league this year in terms of numbers, surpassing this total in just two of five games.
However, he has gone for 200+ yards in 80% of games and given the Bengals’ weakness defending the pass, we’ll back him here.
Pick: Aaron Rodgers Over 216.5 Passing Yards (-110 — bet365)
Jonnu Smith Over 25.5 Receiving Yards (-110)
With the Bengals giving up the fourth-most passing yards in the league, it shouldn’t be a surprise that they rank fifth in yards allowed to tight ends, with 395 after six games, an average of 65.8 yards allowed to the position each game.
The receiving yards line for the Steelers TE Jonnu Smith is 25.5, a line that he’s only beaten once this season, against the Seahawks in Week 2.
However, this game and this defense should allow Smith to have a big day. He ranks fourth in receiving yards for the Steelers behind DK Metcalf, Jaylen Warren and Calvin Austin, but actually sits second in targets if you remove running backs.
With an average of four targets per game, he’s a strong candidate to cover his receiving yards.
Pick: Jonnu Smith Over 25.5 Receiving Yards (-110 — bet365)
Ja'Marr Chase Over 6.5 Receptions (-120)
The Steelers are 5.5-point favorites, which theoretically should mean that Joe Flacco and the Bengals will be passing the football in a trailing game script.
That means Ja'Marr Chase should be seeing a lot of the ball, which he usually does.
Through six games, Chase has only gone over 6.5 receptions on two occasions, but there are some other factors at play.
In the three games that Jake Browning played the majority of snaps, two from the start, Chase failed to hit that mark.
The key here is that he caught 10-of-12 targets against a good Packers defense in the first game with Joe Flacco at quarterback.
Flacco isn’t an elite QB, but he’s more efficient than Browning and should be able to continually feed Chase.
Pick: Ja’Marr Chase Over 6.5 Receptions (-120 — bet365)
DK Metcalf Anytime Touchdown (+145)
When it comes to an anytime touchdown pick, there was serious consideration given to Jonnu Smith with the Bengals allowing five TDs to tight ends this season, but instead, the choice has to be DK Metcalf.
The former Seahawk has now scored in four straight games and is becoming a favorite target of Rodgers, a man who has a history of giving real volume to players that he likes and has chemistry with.
Metcalf leads the team in targets with 31, nearly double the 17 targets of the next-best wide receiver Calvin Austin.
Metcalf's scored four of the team’s 13 touchdowns and also leads the team in red-zone targets (three).
The Bengals are allowing two passing touchdowns per game, and with Metcalf getting the lion’s share of the targets, and leading the team in red-zone targets, he offers real value as an anytime touchdown scorer.
Pick: DK Metcalf Anytime Touchdown (+145 at FanDuel)
Steelers vs Bengals Prop Bets
- QB Aaron Rodgers Over 216.5 Passing Yards (-110 at bet365)
- TE Jonnu Smith Over 25.5 Receiving Yards (-110 at bet365)
- WR Ja'Marr Chase Over 6.5 Receptions (-120 at bet365)
- WR DK Metcalf Anytime Touchdown (+145 at FanDuel)
