Bengals Favored To Continue Promising Start

Cincinnati (2-1 SU, 2-1 ATS) has been one of the NFL’s more pleasant surprises so far, sitting atop the AFC North after three weeks. The Bengals opened as touchdown favorites to hand Jacksonville (0-3, 0-3) its 19th straight loss.

Sportsbook Odds Analysis

Cincinnati opened as a favorite for just the second time since the start of last season and was bet up to 7.5-point chalk following last week’s upset win at Pittsburgh. The Bengals haven’t been favored by more than a touchdown since 2017.

Jacksonville News & Notes

Last week, the Jaguars looked like they might be on their way to their first victory in nearly 13 months before giving it away — literally. Quarterback Trevor Lawrence threw a pick-six that erased Jacksonville’s 19-17 lead late in the third quarter, and the Jags turned the ball over two more times in the fourth en route to their 18th consecutive SU loss.

The giveaways were nothing new for Jacksonville, which is dead last in the NFL in both turnovers (nine) and turnover ratio (-8). They also undid some of the Jaguars’ solid work in building a 19-10 lead, including holding Arizona to 155 first-half yards and returning a missed field goal 109 yards for a touchdown — the second straight week Jamal Agnew has returned a kick for more than 100 yards.

The Jags could be trotting out a new kicker Thursday night after veteran Josh Lambo missed a pair of extra points against Arizona, his fourth and fifth missed kicks of the season. Jacksonville worked out placekickers on Monday and also made a trade, sending cornerback C.J. Henderson to Carolina for tight end Dan Arnold.

Cincinnati News & Notes

It hasn’t taken Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase long to recapture the chemistry they had two years ago when they led LSU to a national college championship. Burrow connected with the rookie on a pair of touchdown throws last week in Pittsburgh as Chase became just the ninth receiver in NFL history to catch a touchdown in each of his first three career games.

The Bengals dominated the line of scrimmage against the Steelers, ending Pittsburgh’s NFL-record streak of 75 straight games with at least one sack while recording four sacks of their own on Ben Roethlisberger. Cincinnati’s eighth-ranked run defense also had another strong day, limiting the Steelers to just 45 yards on the ground.

Cincy was an underdog in its first three games, winning two of them SU, but it’ll be interesting to see how the Bengals respond in a rare role as favorite. They’ve also struggled recently in prime-time affairs, losing 11 of their last 14 appearances under the lights.

Staff Betting Pick: Jaguars +7.5

Cincinnati could be primed for a letdown following a huge win in Pittsburgh, especially with the Packers on deck next week. If Jacksonville can do a better job taking care of the football, don’t be surprised to see the Jags threaten to snap their lengthy losing streak once again this week.