The Cincinnati Bengals finally have the playoff monkey off their back after a first postseason win in 31 years in the Wild Card round. Now, the question is can this young Bengals team take the franchise to their first AFC Championship game since 1998?
The Tennessee Titans are certainly hoping that isn’t the case as the AFC’s No. 1 team enters the playoff picture. Confidence is high in Nashville with Derrick Henry poised to make his long-awaited return after 9 weeks out with a foot injury.
Home advantage and Henry’s comeback has the Titans pegged as 3.5-point favorites as Tennessee bid to return to the AFC Championship game two years on from their last appearance.
It’s set up to be a thrilling matchup on Saturday afternoon and to enhance the excitement we’ve put together a same game parlay that returns at +1360.
Bengals over 21.5 total points (-110)
Joe Burrow over 278.5 passing yards (-114)
Anthony Firkser anytime touchdown scorer (+370)
Parlay odds: +1360
Bengals over 21.5 total points (-110)
It’s fair to say the Bengals’ offense didn’t perform to its full potential in the win over the Las Vegas Raiders, relying on kicker Evan McPherson to keep their noses in front. Some regression was inevitable though after such a strong end to the regular season, while a young offense is always liable to blow hot and cold.
It was a big spot for the franchise too after such a long wait for a playoff win but they got the job done, beating their points line for this next game comfortably in the process. For me, this offense is just too talented not to put up more than 22 points against the Titans and the stats would bear that out — Cincinnati having averaged over 27 points per game so far this season.
This team is stacked with playmakers with Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins and Joe Mixon having all taken over games at times during the season. They aren’t the only players the team can count on to move the sticks though with Tyler Boyd and C.J. Uzomah having played critical roles, with both men getting in the endzone against the Raiders.
The Titans’ defense is decent but it has its flaws, flaws that have been exposed at times during the regular season. The stats tell you they’ve given up less than 21 points a game but they’ve also allowed the likes of the Jets and Texans to score 25-plus against them too. This Bengals points number is too low and needs attacking.
Be sure to check out our full game preview for Cincinnati Bengals vs Tennessee Titans
Joe Burrow over 278.5 passing yards (-114)
Key to the Bengals offense putting up points is, of course, Joe Burrow, who didn’t post mind-boggling numbers against the Raiders but was still excellent in taking what the defense gave him. Burrow had issues against a Raiders defense that liked to drop off earlier in the season but had clearly learned his lesson, completing 24 of 34 passes for 244 yards and 2 touchdowns.
The 25-year-old might only have one playoff game under his belt but there was enough evidence on show to suggest the stage is not too big for him. The supporting cast is, as mentioned, very strong and has helped Burrow throw for over 279 yards eights times in the last 14 games.
It’s likely this game won’t be quite so comfortable as last week’s win for the Bengals, particularly with King Henry back, and it seems likely Burrow will need to throw more to keep Cincinnati in the game. The Titans’ pass defense gave up over 245 yards per game on average and grades out 14th in DVOA, so there will be opportunities for Burrow to move the ball against this team.
Anthony Firkser anytime touchdown scorer (+370)
The Bengals have had issues stopping tight ends all year and that means there’s some value in backing Anthony Firkser over the rest of the Titans’ offense to score a touchdown. It wasn’t easy to choose between Firkser or fellow TE Geoff Swaim — who is available at bigger odds — but it was the former’s extra red zone targets that swung it in the end.
Firkser saw his role on the team expand from Week 11 onwards and has had more or the same number of targets as Swaim over the last 5 weeks despite a lower snap count. He ended the regular season with touchdowns in back-to-back games and is clearly a big red zone threat.
The Bengals allowed the Raiders’ Darren Waller to have 7 catches for 76 yards last week, despite Waller not being 100 percent. Although they did keep him out of the endzone, they have given up 8 touchdowns on the year to tight ends and should be vulnerable to Firkser and Swaim.
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