The Cincinnati Bengals and Jacksonville Jaguars are putting all the chips on the table in this battle of the cats. The Bengals are coming off a disappointing road loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers that showed some holes in their new-look defense. That could be a problem as the Jaguars offense has been humming mostly through three weeks.
How do the oddsmakers and experts see this one playing out?
Odds
Cincinnati is currently a 2.5-point favorite at home, according to FanDuel Sportsbook. The usual spread based
on even teams meeting is the home team getting 3.5 points of favorability, so clearly Jacksonville is eating into the home-field advantage there.
The over/under is set at 51.5 points. Cincinnati has gone over that mark twice in their season so far, but the Jaguars have never reached that height. However, they have scored 35 and 34 points so far. That is more than the Bengals’ 33 points against the Tampa Bay Bucs, their highest output of the season.
Expert picks
- ESPN has seven of their 11 experts still going with Cincinnati
- Four of CBS Sports’ seven experts are taking Cincinnati
- Three of NFL.com’s five experts are going with the Jaguars
- NFL Pick Watch — which takes into account picks from experts around the web — has the Bengals being picked 52 percent of the time.
Cincy Jungle Prediction
Clearly, this is expected to be a close game between two very good AFC teams with good quarterbacks leading them. Joe Burrow and Trevor Lawrence also met in the 2019 National Championship when Burrow and the LSU Tigers defeated Trevor Lawrence and the Clemson Tigers (another game between big cats).
Jacksonville boasts the top-scoring defense, only allowing 12 points per game, but when you have played the Cleveland Browns, Denver Broncos, and New England Patriots, it really doesn’t compare to an offense like Cincinnati’s. However, you can say the same about Cincinnati’s defense, as none of the offenses they have faced have exactly lit the world on fire either.
This game likely comes down to turnovers and the little things like penalties. That second one has plagued this team so far. However, returning home after a humbling loss could do this team good. The Bengals defense gets to Lawrence just enough to edge out a win over the Jaguars
Final Score: Bengals 38, Jaguars 34
Now, send us your game predictions in the comments section!
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