The first game of NFL Week 11 takes us to Baltimore, Maryland, as the Bengals and Ravens face off in an AFC North divisional matchup. Instead of looking at the spread or total for this game, I’ve focused on the prop market and have two touchdown scorer best bets for the matchup. Plus, on Monday Night Football, I nailed both of my touchdown scorer bets at +200 and +240 odds. So, here’s to hoping that luck continues in Week 11 here on Thursday Night Football!
Cincinnati Bengals touchdown scorer best bet: Tyler Boyd (+230)
Dropping a pass is part of the game for wide receivers, but Tyler Boyd’s drop in Week 10 was his worst of the season. The Bengals were driving down the field with less than 2 minutes left, and Joe Burrow threw a perfect pass down the middle of the field to Boyd in the end zone. The catch would have been the go-ahead score and likely would have won the game for Cincinnati, but Boyd dropped it. The Bengals lost the game, and Boyd was obviously distraught on the sidelines after the fact.
There are two routes that Burrow and the Bengals can take now — one is looking to target other receivers to give Boyd a break, or two, throw it to him frequently to demonstrate that the confidence has not wavered. The first option isn’t the worst idea, but Tee Higgins has yet to practice this week and looks to be in a position to miss another game. And with Ja’Marr Chase already drawing a lot of attention, another receiver will have to step up. That receiver was Boyd in Week 10, as he had 8 catches on 12 targets for 117 yards, so although he may have dropped the most important pass of the day, he led the Bengals in targets by a wide margin. I’m expecting Burrow to go back to Boyd a lot in Week 11, especially against a stout Baltimore defense that should be determined to limit Chase’s involvement.
Check out our full Cincinnati Bengals vs Baltimore Ravens predictions
Baltimore Ravens touchdown scorer best bet: Gus Edwards (+110)
The player who is most heavily favored to score a touchdown on Thursday night is Gus Edwards. At FanDuel, you can still get Edwards at plus-money odds, which isn’t the case for other sportsbooks. I wasn’t all that interested in Edwards at minus odds, but the opportunity at plus odds is too great to overlook. Baltimore’s primary running back has scored in 4 straight games and has totaled 7 touchdowns in that span. It seems whenever the Ravens get into the red zone, the plan is to give Edwards several chances to score before putting the ball in Lamar Jackson’s hands to either rush or find Mark Andrews or Zay Flowers in the end zone. However, the latter hasn’t happened much recently, as many Jackson fantasy owners would know, because Edwards has consistently found the end zone during his red-zone rushes.
Besides Baltimore’s blowout of the Seahawks in Week 9, Edwards has carried the ball at least 10 times since Week 2. J.K. Dobbins tearing his Achilles in Week 1, as unfortunate as that was, opened the door for Edwards, and he’s made the most of it. As for Thursday night against the Bengals, Edwards will get a favorable matchup against a defense that has been terrible against the run. Cincinnati ranks 30th in the league in rushing yards per game and has allowed a rushing touchdown in 6 straight games. And for the cherry on top, the Bengals are also dealing with a slew of injuries to their defense. Sam Hubbard and Trey Hendrickson are both questionable with injuries and if either of them can’t suit up, it would be a huge loss for the Cincinnati defense. I’m expecting Edwards to extend his touchdown streak to 5 games in this primetime matchup.
Don’t miss our TNF Bengals vs Ravens Same Game Parlay at +982 odds!
