Cincinnati Bengals at Denver Broncos (-3.5), Total 40 |
Cincinnati pulled off a 27-17 upset over the Cleveland Browns as 6.5-point road underdogs and will now seek a second consecutive road win. The Bengals are hoping that starting quarterback Andy Dalton is able to recover from a right wrist injury that he suffered in the opener.
All signs in practice point to him being behind center, as he was able to throw short and medium routes in practice toward week’s end. He finished his NFL debut by completing 10 of 15 passes for 81 yards.
No matter who is taking the snaps under center, Cincinnati is likely to pound the ball with a running game that averaged 4.2 yards per play last week. The Bengals ran it 33 times in 64 offensive plays.
Cedric Benson was the star of the show, carrying the ball 25 times for 121 yards and loves to grind out victories. “Of course you would love to have it the other way where it’s big ones all day long, but sometimes it happens like this,” he stated after game.
A win may be hard to come by as the franchise has not won in the Mile High City since 1975. The Bengals are also just 1-6 in the Mountain and Pacific time zones under the direction of head coach Marvin Lewis.
Bengals betting players will find that the Bengals are 15-19 ATS over the last two-plus seasons and the total is squared up at 17-17 Over/Under.
Denver was handed a 23-20 home loss to the Oakland Raiders as three-point favorites, but have a chance to regroup due to the team’s 17-8 all-time record against the Bengals in the regular season, including an 11-2 mark at home.
Since 1996, the Broncos own the NFL’s best record in the first month of the regular season, going 39-17 in those contests the last 16 years. The team is definitely different than those years, starting four rookies last week.
Quarterback Kyle Orton will be under center despite all the calls from the crowd to start Tim Tebow. The former Purdue star ranks third among active signal-callers in career touchdown-to-interception ratio in the red zone.
Everyone in the Mile High City needs to relax, as he was one of just seven starting quarterbacks to post a 100-plus passer rating during the preseason.
Bettors will find that Broncos betting are 0-3 ATS after playing on Monday Night Football and 8-9 ATS at home.
