Bengals Home Underdogs Against Giants With Burrow Out for Year

The Cincinnati Bengals (2-7-1) begin life without rookie quarterback Joe Burrow on Sunday when they host the New York Giants (3-7) as home underdogs at sportsbooks monitored by Odds Shark. The Bengals saw Burrow go down with a torn ACL and MCL in last Sunday’s 20-9 road loss to Washington, failing to cover the spread as 1.5-point underdogs. Meanwhile, the Giants are suddenly only a half-game back of the NFC East lead and return to action in Week 12 following a bye.

Sportsbook Odds Analysis

The point spread has obviously taken a big turn with Burrow out for the rest of the season, as Cincinnati was projected to be a small home favorite based on the look-ahead line. Instead, bettors have pounced on New York in this spot knowing the road team is also off a bye and has new life with the potential to still win the division title. Those factors all add up to the Giants having a big edge, which is why they are already up to -6 at some books.

New York News & Notes

What an opportunity for a New York team that looked cooked after losing six of its first seven games of the season. A modest two-game winning streak can be extended to three fairly easily against an inferior opponent that just lost its best player.

Of course this could also be a trap game for the Giants off their bye, but the extra time off can only help in this situation, right? They have covered the spread in three of their last four games after a bye, according to the Odds Shark NFL Database, winning two of them straight up.

It remains to be seen, though, how good a head coach Joe Judge is under this scenario, as the latest news about him involved an altercation with offensive line coach Marc Colombo, who was then fired last week. Judge at least has a solid shot to succeed here.

Cincinnati News & Notes

Where do the Bengals go from here? They were already without leading rusher Joe Mixon, who was placed on injured reserve with a foot injury. Mixon will miss at least two more games and when he returns he will be missing his starting quarterback in Burrow.

Second-year signal-caller Ryan Finley is expected to take over for Burrow and he has done very little to impress in five career games. Finley completed three of 10 passes for 30 yards in relief of Burrow last Sunday, also throwing an interception and getting sacked four times.

While he did carry the ball once for 19 yards, there is no mistaking him for a running threat like Burrow. That season-ending injury for the No. 1 overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft exposed another major weakness for Cincinnati – the offensive line.

Editor’s Note: It was reported midweek that the Bengals were passing over Finley to give Brandon Allen the start at quarterback on Sunday afternoon.

Betting Pick: Bengals +6