Ricky Dimon
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Why have only 1 Monday Night Football game when you can have 2? As the NFL Week 3 schedule indicates, there is no reason to have only 1! The pleasure and fun will be doubled on Monday when the Jacksonville Jaguars visit the Buffalo Bills and the Cincinnati Bengals host the Washington Commanders. It’s already desperation time for Cincinnati in the latter contest, as Joe Burrow and company are winless through 2 weeks.
Here is my Same Game Parlay for the festivities, which get underway at 8:15 pm ET on ABC. Also be sure to check out our full Commanders vs Bengals predictions.
Bengals -7 (-112)
Ja’Marr Chase to score a touchdown (+125)
Jayden Daniels to record 50+ rushing yards (-105)
Parlay odds: +800
Part of the value in a Same Game Parlay, of course, is that all of its components can be correlated if you so choose. That is some of the plan here, as Cincinnati receiver Ja’Marr Chase finding the endzone would obviously work well with a win and cover by the Bengals. At the same time, plays that aren’t correlated drive up the overall payout of the parlay. That is the case with backing Washington quarterback Jayden Daniels to rack up a bunch of rushing yards. But even if he does, there is no reason why the Bengals can’t take care of business.
Bengals -7 (-112)
Don’t be fooled by the Bengals’ 0-2 record. This is a team that is certainly capable of making the playoffs, if not even winning the AFC North. It is true that they stunk up the joint in a Week 1 loss to the New England Patriots, but they played much better last weekend and probably should have taken down the 2-time defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs. But a loss is a loss, and if nothing else it will likely have Cincinnati even more inspired for this primetime contest that has really become a must-win situation. The Bengals shouldn’t have any trouble getting that done, either, because they are simply a much better squad than the Commanders. Daniels may have this franchise trending upward for the future, but the present is not particularly bright. He doesn’t have a ton of weapons on offense, the defense isn’t very good and Dan Quinn is a borderline inept head coach. Give me the Bengals to win big.
Ja’Marr Chase to score a touchdown (+125)
Burrow certainly hasn’t set the world on fire through 2 games, but he also hasn’t been terrible. The former LSU standout has thrown 2 touchdown passes without getting picked off. It’s only a matter of time before the connection between Burrow and Chase heats up in a major way. Washington is a perfect opponent of which to take advantage. The Commanders have given up the most TD passes in the league after 2 weeks (6). There is no reason to think Quinn’s defense will be able to contain a receiver who scored 29 touchdowns in his first 3 professional seasons.
Jayden Daniels to record 50+ rushing yards (-105)
Daniels has been outstanding through 2 weeks. The #2 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft went 23-of-29 for 226 yards against the Giants last Sunday and added another 40 yards on the ground. That came after he amassed 88 yards on QB keepers in the season opener. Daniels now faces a Cincinnati defense that surrendered the sixth-most rushing yards to opposing quarterbacks in 2023 (22.1 per game) and so far in 2024 is giving up 30.5. Now that the Bengals are going up gainst an especially dangerous running QB, they could really get abused in that department.
