Oddsmakers have set the over-under for the Steelers-Bengals game this Sunday at 4.5 deaths, sources in Vegas confirmed this morning.
“For the longest time, Steelers-Ravens was the matchup you expected to turn into a shootout — like, with actual firearms,” said odds expert Rodney Clifton. “That’s why you saw over-under for those games climb to two, maybe even three-and-a-half deaths. The Steelers-Bengals rivalry has taken over that mantle the last couple seasons, though, so we expect to see a real barn burner Sunday, in which someone may actually be burned to death, or at the very least decapitated.”
Since the over-under was established, countless betting insiders have weighed in on the highly anticipated AFC North showdown.
“I thought you couldn’t get players any deadlier on the field — as in sincerely determined to mortally wound a member of the other team — than Hines Ward and Terrell Suggs,” said Sierra Dougherty of ProBets.com. “But Antonio Brown is just as likely to violently hurl things at someone on his own sideline as he is his opponents, and then there’s Vontaze Burfict, who has to be rearing to orphan somebody’s children after his latest suspension. That just screams at least six, seven deaths to me, so take the over here.”
“Oh, and I guess both teams will probably score some touchdowns or something, too,” she added.
Doughtery’s take matches popular sentiment to this point, but other betting experts argue that the increased number of penalties this season may limit the death toll.
“With the way the NFL is calling games this year, I see these two teams ending up just under the line,” contended long-time Vegas insider Brody Evans. “All these flags are going to make guys think twice about that big splash throat stomp or headbutt directly to the ribs. I think a lot of guys will stick to making small-impact moves like breaking a couple fingers in a pileup or knocking somebody’s teeth out instead.”
Division has emerged among pundits and fans as well over James Conner’s potential output in his first start against the Bengals. Supporters believe he could leave Sunday with as many as three kills and 14 bones broken. Detractors, meanwhile, point to injury concerns, expecting him to suffer a life-threatening brain injury by halftime.
