Andrew Ortenberg
Show Bio
The Cincinnati Bengals had another disappointing season in 2018. The year was full of ups and downs, both straight up and against the spread. Unlike the 2017 season where the Bengals started slow and then rallied, this year’s team started strong but faded fast. With low expectations to enter the season, the Bengals raced out to a 4-1 record before they collapsed. For the year they finished 9-7 against the spread, meaning you would’ve turned a decent profit backing the Bengals each week. So how did everyone’s Cincinnati Bengals betting season go? Let’s dive into that now.
They covered in four of their first five games, then covered just one of their next seven, before covering four straight to end the season. Their defense was a train wreck all season long and as such, betting the over was profitable. The over finished 9-6-1, and it started 8-3 before some respectable defensive showings late in the year.
Cincinnati Bengals Recap
There was a lot of buzz surrounding this year’s Browns team, the Steelers were expected to be great as per usual, and there was renewed optimism about the Ravens in the months leading up to the 2018 NFL season. Pretty much nobody was talking about the Bengals, and they responded by storming out of the gates and shocking the entire league. They set a tone with a Week 1 win on the road in Indianapolis, and then beat the Ravens in primetime on Thursday Night Football in Week 2.
They started off 4-1, and looked like they might be legit contenders in the AFC North. Then everything started to crumble. They lost seven of their next eight games, and played poorly on both sides of the ball. Andy Dalton continued to regress, and eventually his season was ended in Week 12 by a thumb injury. Backup Jeff Driskel, who had never started a game, was asked to start the rest of the season and, well, you can imagine how well that went. While they only won one game that he started, they did cover in each of his last four starts as oddsmakers dramatically overreacted to Dalton’s injury.
The defense was ravaged by injuries, and became one of the worst units in the league. Their season was defined by two embarrassing losses to the Browns, including the embarrassing home loss in Week 12 where Baker Mayfield repeatedly showed the team up. The season was so disappointing that it actually led to the firing of longtime head coach Marvin Lewis. Lewis had seemed invincible with Bengals ownership, but even they couldn’t do nothing after yet another losing season.
Lewis was out after 15 years as head coach, and the team brought in a young whizkid, Rams QBs coach Zac Taylor, to replace him. The Bengals have a tough road ahead of them, and it’s unclear whether they’ll plan a full-on rebuild or try to win now with the roster intact. The team has been noncommittal toward Dalton, and it’s possible he’s played his last down as a Bengal.
Super Bowl Or Bust?
The team needs major help at linebacker and on the offensive line, but does have a lot of skill position talent in A.J. Green, Joe Mixon, and Tyler Boyd. It’s unclear exactly where the division odds and win totals will open, but the Bengals will likely be opened somewhere in the five wins range by oddsmakers. Currently they’re listed as 80/1 to win the Super Bowl, some of the worst odds of any team, in the earliest futures odds at BetOnline.
