Back Bengals In Battle Against Bills

Bills vs. Bengals, 8:30 ET

We could be looking at a playoff preview on this battle of Monday Night Football. We see the Bills coming into the game with a great 12-3 record and the Bengals have a 11-4 record. I'm sure both teams are going to be fired up for this game and we should see some solid offenses playing here. Now let's take a look at the teams before we get to a play.

The Bills dropped two consecutive games to the Jets and Vikings and there was a bit of panic. Now they have won six consecutive games and even though they aren't the most impressive victories, they still count. The Bills have been able to post 30+ points in back-to-back games after not eclipsing that mark in the previous three contests. Josh Allen still is making some dumb plays and passes, but he also is being asked to do virtually everything for Buffalo. In this game the expectations will be just as high. They still need to win this game in order to keep a grip on the Bye week and overall home-field advantage through the playoffs. It will be tough against a good Cincy team though. Their defenses are very evenly matched and I would expect that Buffalo should try to drain the clock as much as possible to keep Joe Burrow off of the field, but that might be the Bengals approach too.

Cincinnati started with what seemed to be a wicked Super Bowl hangover. They lost their first two games and it looked like there was reason to panic. Since then they've gone 11-2 and haven't lost a home game again. Joe Burrow looks like an MVP candidate and they survived an injury to his favorite receiving target during that span so they are fine. A lot is made about the Chiefs and Bills, but this looks more like two teams that are evenly matched to me. They both have a running game but it isn't a dominant one by any means, the quarterbacks have nearly identical stats (Burrow's are actually better) and their defenses allow basically the same things. Lately, Cincinnati has just found ways to win games. They want this one as they too want a shot at home-field games and even the bye week. Plus, beating the Bills and Chiefs in the same year should give added confidence to your squad.

This game is a pick'em, and for me, I think the Bengals win this game. The Bills have shown they aren't as focused on the road and they have played weak opponents lately that have given them some trouble. I like the home-field advantage for the Bengals here and will take them at -105 to win the game.

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