According to one of Nevada’s major sports book operators, the betting public is siding with the favorite in the AFC North title game.
As of late Saturday afternoon, 71 percent of the betting tickets written on Sunday’s Bengals-Steelers matchup at the William Hill U.S. books had been on host Pittsburgh, the company said. The Steelers are 3.5-point favorites at the William Hill books.
The Steelers will capture the AFC North with a victory. Cincinnati will repeat as division champs with a win or a tie on Sunday night (8:30 p.m. ET, NBC).
The loser of Steelers-Bengals will grab one of the AFC’s two wild-card spots. The Chargers, Ravens, Chiefs and Texans are competing for the other wild-card berth.
In Chargers-Chiefs, 79 percent of the tickets written have been on San Diego (+1). Bettors have also preferred the Ravens (59 percent) and Texans (58 percent) in their games. Baltimore (-9) hosts Cleveland, while Houston (-9.5) plays visiting Jacksonville.
Five NFC games have playoff ramifications: Lions-Packers (-7.5), Panthers-Falcons (-3.5), Cowboys-Washington (+6.5), Rams-Seahawks (-12.5) and 49ers-Cardinals (+4). William Hill bettors have fancied the Packers (74 percent), Falcons (65 percent), Cowboys (79 percent), Seahawks (66 percent) and 49ers (54 percent).