The Cincinnati Bengals will be looking to secure at least 1 home playoff game when they entertain the AFC North rival Baltimore Ravens on Sunday afternoon. Cincinnati was in contention for the conference’s #1 seed prior to the cancellation of last week’s Monday Night Football game against the Buffalo Bills, but now #2 is the best it can do. The only way the Bengals would not host in the first round is if they lose to the Ravens on Sunday and there is an immediate rematch in the playoffs. In that case the postseason showdown would be held at a neutral site.
Yes, it’s complicated; but the bottom line is that there is plenty at stake. Here are our predictions and best bets for this week’s divisional tussle in Cincinnati.
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Ravens vs Bengals spread, odds & betting lines
Point Spread: Ravens +9.5, Bengals -9.5
Total Points Over/Under: 39.5 points
Money Line Odds: Ravens +340, Bengals -425
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Baltimore Ravens vs Cincinnati Bengals expert picks
We have 2 NFL picks for this week’s clash between the Ravens and Bengals. Let’s take a look.
Point spread pick: Bengals -9.5 (-105) over Ravens
If the Bengals had lost to the Bills on Monday Night Football, this would have been a winner-take-all battle for the AFC North crown in the final week of the regular season. Because of the cancellation, however, Cincinnati has clinched. However, it has not yet guaranteed a home game in round 1 of the playoffs. As such, head coach Zac Taylor’s team will certainly be going all out on Sunday. That is bad news for the Ravens, because at full strength the Bengals are the far superior team right now. Cincinnati has won and covered in 7 straight and its offense has scored more than 27 in 4 of those 7. The Ravens’ offense under Tyler Huntley has been anemic. In the 5 games he has started this year they haven’t scored more than 17 points. While their defense has played well, they also haven’t faced an offense in the top half of the league in this 5-week stretch; they have played the Steelers twice, Broncos, Falcons and Browns. Look for Cincy to prevail by double-digits.
Be sure to check out our full Baltimore Ravens vs Cincinnati Bengals predictions
Ravens vs Bengals over/under totals pick: Over 39.5 (-110
This total is below the key number of 41 and that should be enough to inspire an over bet. he Ravens’ defense should always be respected, but they have faced only 3 offenses in 2022 that are currently in the top 12 of total offense in Miami, Jacksonville and Tampa Bay — to whom they gave up 42, 28 and 22 points, respectively. Cincinnati’s offense has been on fire over the last 7 games and in all of those it has won and covered. The Bengals have only been held under 360 yards in 1 game over that span. What happened on Monday night is a bit of a variable and it’s impossible to know with certainty what kind of impact it will have on the Bengals, but with Joe Burrow leading this team you can be relatively confident in both a Cincinnati cover and the over.
Be sure to check out all of our expert betting insight, analysis and even more NFL Predictions and Best Bets from the rest of the Week 18 action.
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