Bengals

Cincinnati Bengals at Baltimore Ravens: 2016 Week 12 NFL Pick

stevenlourie 2016 NFL Picks, 2016 Week 12 NFL Picks, Bengals, NFL Picks, Ravens, Uncategorized

Cincinnati Bengals (3-6-1) at Baltimore Ravens (5-5)

Already in the middle of a down year, the Bengals suffered two major injuries last week, as running back Giovani Bernard went down for the season with a torn ACL and #1 wide receiver AJ Green went down for an extended period of time with a strained hamstring. In addition, the Bengals will also be without starting safety Shawn Williams this week with injury. On the other side, the Ravens have gotten healthier in recent weeks, as the guys like Marshal Yanda, Steve Smith, CJ Mosley, Terrell Suggs, and Elvis Dumervil, who missed time earlier this year, are all healthy now. They are now without top cornerback Jimmy Smith, but, all in all, they’re healthier now than they’ve been for most of the season. All that being said, I don’t have a strong opinion either way. This line, at -4 in favor of the hometown Baltimore Ravens, is pretty reasonable. I’m taking the Ravens, but it’s hard to be confident in them as 4 point favorites because I don’t know just how bad the Bengals will be without Green and Bernard.

Baltimore Ravens 22 Cincinnati Bengals 17

Pick against the spread: Baltimore -4

Confidence: None

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Buffalo Bills at Cincinnati Bengals: 2016 Week 11 NFL Pick

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Buffalo Bills (4-5) at Cincinnati Bengals (3-5-1)

This line has shifted from 4.5 in favor of the Bengals on the early line last week to 3 in the past week, a huge shift considering about 3 in 10 games are decided by 4 points or fewer and about 1 in 6 games are decided by exactly a field goal. Typically, I like to fade significant week-to-week line movements because they tend to be overreactions to a single week, but we’re not really getting line value with the Bengals at 3 either. I have these two teams more or less even. In fact, they’re just one spot apart in terms of first down rate differential, Cincinnati entering in 20th and Buffalo entering in 21st. This line suggests these two teams are even, so this line is exactly where it should be. Neither side is really in a better spot than the other one either. I’m taking the Bengals because the public is on Buffalo and the public always loses money in the long run, but this is a pure public fade and a pick ‘em pool pick only. I wouldn’t touch this game. A push seems likely.

Cincinnati Bengals 23 Buffalo Bills 20

Pick against the spread: Cincinnati -3

Confidence: None

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Cincinnati Bengals at New York Giants: 2016 Week 10 NFL Pick

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Cincinnati Bengals (3-4-1) at New York Giants (5-3)

This is a line I legitimately don’t understand. As a result of injuries and off-season losses, the Bengals are not the same team they were last season. They enter this game 15th in first down rate differential, a little better than 3-4-1 their record suggests, but average at best. The Giants, meanwhile, are 5-3 despite a -7 turnover margin and their 3rd toughest schedule in the league thus far, in terms of opponent win/loss record. They rank 9th in first down rate differential and have been a noticeably better team than the Bengals this season, but despite that they are 1 point home underdogs here for this Monday Night Football game. The Giants are missing top offensive lineman Justin Pugh with injury, but this we’re getting at least 5 points of line value with the Giants (I’d have the Bengals at +4), so the Giants are the easy choice here.

New York Giants 24 Cincinnati Bengals 20 Upset Pick +100

Pick against the spread: NY Giants +1

Confidence: Medium

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Washington Redskins vs. Cincinnati Bengals: 2016 Week 8 NFL Pick

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Washington Redskins (4-3) vs. Cincinnati Bengals (3-4) at London

Typically, the favorite covers in these London games, as they have done in 10 of the last 14 London games. Playing a neutral site game overseas makes for an unusual week and it makes sense that the better team would have an advantage and would be better equipped to deal with the situation. That was definitely the case last week with the Giants as 3 point favorites over the lowly Rams, who turned it over 4 times in a loss. In this game, the Bengals are favored by a field goal. However, I’m not going to take the Bengals this week because these two teams are more or less even in my book. Usually it makes sense to assume that the favorite will both win and cover in a game like this, but only when the team that’s favored deserves to be favored, which is not the case in this game.

The Redskins actually enter this game 8 spots higher than the Bengals in first down percentage differential, as they rank 16th, while the Bengals rank 24th. The Bengals have had a tougher schedule, but it’s hard to argue they’re a significantly better team than the Redskins. There’s not quite enough here for me to take the Redskins (that changes at 3.5), but we’re getting some line value with them and they should be the right side. If the Bengals win, there’s a good chance this is still a field goal game at worst.

Cincinnati Bengals 24 Washington Redskins 23

Pick against the spread: Washington +3

Confidence: Low

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Cleveland Browns at Cincinnati Bengals: 2016 Week 7 NFL Pick

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Cleveland Browns (0-6) at Cincinnati Bengals (2-4)

Despite being just 2-4, the Bengals are favored by double digits this week. That’s even rarer than you’d think, as just 4 other teams since 1993 have been favored by double digits despite having a winning percentage of .333 or worse in week 6 or later. Teams are 3-4-1 ATS in that spot since 1989, so the Bengals’ record doesn’t neccessary mean they will fail to cover as favorites of this many points, but whether or not they deserve to be favored by 10 points here at home against the Browns is a major question.

There’s good argument to be made that they do, despite their record. The Browns are one of the worst teams in the league, arguably the worst with all of the injuries they’re dealing with right now. They lost talented left guard Joel Bitonio for the season last week and will be without top cornerback Joe Haden again this week. Meanwhile, top receiver Terrelle Pryor could miss this week’s game, meaning the Browns would be without both week 1 starting wide receivers (Corey Coleman has been out since week 2). The Browns enter this game 31st in first down percentage differential, only ahead of the Jets, and they’re even less talented than the Jets are.

The Bengals, meanwhile, rank just 26th in first down percentage, but they’ve been significantly better than the Browns in that measure, especially given how tough their schedule has been. They’re 2-4 in large part because they’ve played Dallas, New England, Pittsburgh, and Denver, all of whom are division leaders. It’s concerning that they’ve been unable to beat these teams, but I don’t think it’s out of the question that they could beat the Browns by double digits. However, I am going with the Browns, as they’re in a better spot than the Bengals.

The Bengals have a London game on deck and teams understandably struggle before playing an international game, going 8-19 ATS all-time. The Browns, meanwhile, are in their 2nd of two road games, which historically has been an advantage for teams. Teams are 132-100 ATS as road underdogs off a road loss since 2008, including 104-68 ATS when it’s their 2nd of 2 road games. This is because teams tend to do better in their 2nd straight road game than their first one, but lines don’t really adjust for this. Teams are 222-236 straight up in their 2nd of two road games since 2008, getting outscored by an average of 0.87 points per game, as opposed to 322-448 straight up in their 1st of one road game since 2008, getting outscored by an average of 3.03 points per game. There’s not quite enough here for me to put money on the Browns, but they should be the right side.

Cincinnati Bengals 27 Cleveland Browns 20

Pick against the spread: Cleveland +10

Confidence: Low

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Cincinnati Bengals at New England Patriots: 2016 Week 6 NFL Pick

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Cincinnati Bengals (2-3) at New England Patriots (4-1)

The Patriots got a big 20 point win in Cleveland last week, while the Bengals lost by 14 points in Dallas. As a result, this line has moved from 7 on the early line last week to 9 this week. I think this line is too high now. The Patriots’ performance was impressive, but the Bengals are a much tougher opponent than the Browns. The Patriots are a top-5 team with Tom Brady back, but the Bengals are better than this line and their record suggest. They’re 2-3, but all 3 of their losses came against tough opponents, Denver, Pittsburgh, and Dallas. They’re not as good as they were last year, missing injured tight end Tyler Eifert, and free agent departures Marvin Jones, Mohamed Sanu, Reggie Nelson, and Leon Hall. However, they’re still a legitimate playoff contender.

They’re also in a great spot here, even against a tough New England team. For one, they’re in their second straight road game. Teams are 133-98 ATS as road underdogs off a road loss since 2008, including 108-66 ATS when it’s their 2nd of 2 road games. This is because teams tend to do better in their 2nd straight road game than their first one, but lines don’t really adjust for this. Teams are 233-234 straight up in their 2nd of two road games since 2008, getting outscored by an average of 0.49 points per game, as opposed to 333-455 straight up in their 1st of one road game since 2008, getting outscored by an average of 2.80 points per game.

The Bengals also have a very easy game on deck against the Browns. The early line has them as 10.5 point favorites, a big swing from this game. Underdogs of 6 or more are 40-30 ATS since 2008 before being favorites of 6 or more. It’s much easier to keep it close against a superior opponent if you don’t have a tough game upcoming to provide as a distraction. The Patriots, meanwhile, go to Pittsburgh next week for arguably their toughest regular season game. As long as you can get it higher than a touchdown, it’s worth putting money on the Bengals. This figures to be a close game.

New England Patriots 24 Cincinnati Bengals 20

Pick against the spread: Cincinnati +9

Confidence: Medium

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Cincinnati Bengals at Dallas Cowboys: 2016 Week 5 NFL Pick

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Cincinnati Bengals (2-2) at Dallas Cowboys (3-1)

The Cowboys have gone 3-1 to start the season, but have played a pretty easy schedule so far. They’ve beaten up on the Bears and 49ers in the past two weeks, two of the worst teams in the league, and their toughest games came against divisional rivals Washington and New York, neither of whom have a great team this year. There’s a very good argument to be made that the Bengals are the toughest team the Cowboys have faced this year. The Cowboys are at home, but the Cowboys have fans all over the country, so they really haven’t had much homefield in advantage in recent years, going 16-34 ATS at home since 2010, as opposed to 29-21 ATS on the road. Over that time period, they’ve outscored opponents by 0.61 points per game at home and been outscored by 0.72 points per game on the road, meaning their homefield advantage hasn’t even been worth a point over that time period.

The Cowboys are 7-5 ATS as home underdogs over that time period, but this line isn’t at the full field goal yet, so basically all the Bengals would have to do is cover straight up. The Cowboys do get defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence back from a 4-game suspension and left tackle Tyron Smith back from a 2-game absence with back problems, but they’ll likely be without top wide receiver Dez Bryant for the second straight game and top cornerback Orlando Scandrick for the third straight game, after neither player practiced at all this week.

The Bengals are still the better team and have a good chance to win straight up in a stadium in which the Cowboys haven’t had a ton of success. Neither of these teams are in a great spot, as the Bengals head to New England next week, while the Cowboys to go Green Bay, two very tough and important upcoming games for these two teams. For that reason, I don’t have a great lean on this game at all, but I’m going to take the visiting Bengals unless the line does get up to a field goal. It’s a no confidence pick, but this game has a good chance to be a field goal game.

Cincinnati Bengals 23 Dallas Cowboys 20

Pick against the spread: Cincinnati -2

Confidence: None

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Miami Dolphins at Cincinnati Bengals: 2016 Week 4 NFL Pick

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Miami Dolphins (1-2) at Cincinnati Bengals (1-2)

The Bengals could easily be 0-3 right now, if not for a missed extra point by the Jets that could have sent the game to overtime. However, they’ve had a tough schedule so far. Both the Steelers and the Broncos (their two losses) are legitimate playoff teams, while the Jets are an at least capable opponent (when they’re not turning it over 8 times). They have a big chance to bounce back in a big way this week though, against a Dolphins team that figures to be very overmatched this week.

There are a few reasons they figure to be overmatched. For one, they’re missing a significant amount of key players. Talented center Mike Pouncey remains out, while backup center Anthony Steen will join him this week. Starting running back Arian Foster and tight end Jordan Cameron are also out, though they’re not as important as Pouncey. On the defensive side, linebackers Koa Misi and Jelani Jenkins are both questionable on a short week. On the other side, the Bengals get linebacker stud linebacker Vontaze Burfict back from his 3 game suspension.

On top of that, the Dolphins are in a tough spot as a visiting team on Thursday Night. Home non-divisional favorites on Thursday nights are 16-35 ATS since 1989, including 9-21 ATS as underdogs of 4 or more. Thursday night games are tough enough for players, but they’re especially tough when you have to go on the road and face a superior opponent, unless that opponent is a divisional opponent that you play twice a year. The Dolphins are unfamiliar with the Bengals as an opponent and are significantly inferior talent wise.

They finished last season 31st in rate of moving the chains differential and are only 23rd in that metric so far in this young season. They would have lost to the banged up Browns if the Browns could hit a field goal. Meanwhile, the Bengals remain a legitimate playoff contender. If anything, this line is too low at 7. Either the public doesn’t realize how bad the Dolphins are or they’re mislead by the Bengals record, or both. Making matters worse for the Dolphins, they’re are coming off of an overtime game. Predictably, teams do not do well on a Thursday Night off of an overtime game, going 4-20 ATS since 1989, including 2-13 ATS on the road. This is my Pick of the Week.

Cincinnati Bengals 27 Miami Dolphins 13

Pick against the spread: Cincinnati -7

Confidence: Pick of the Week

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Denver Broncos at Cincinnati Bengals: 2016 Week 3 NFL Pick

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Denver Broncos (2-0) at Cincinnati Bengals (1-1)

These two teams have had opposite starts to the season schedule wise. While the Broncos were home for their first 2 games, the Cincinnati opened the season on the road against the Jets and Steelers. That hurts Cincinnati’s chances here in this week 3 matchup, as they’ve had to travel much more than their opponents. Teams are 24-46 ATS since 1989 in a week 3 home opener, while teams that start the season with back-to-back home games are 42-30 ATS in their first road game of the season week 3. Combining the two, teams are just 3-10 ATS a week 3 home opener if their opponent opened the season with back-to-back home games.

On top of that, the Bengals have to turn around and play a Thursday Night game in 4 days after this game, with the Miami Dolphins coming to town. Favorites are just 50-71 ATS before Thursday Night Football, since 2008, as upcoming short weeks like that tend to be a distraction for teams. Despite all of this and the fact that close to 1 in 4 games are decided by a field goal or less, the Bengals are favored by 3.5 points here against a team that’s at least comparable in talent to them, if not better. It’s worth putting money on 3.5 because this could easily be a field goal game, but I also wouldn’t be surprised if the Broncos won straight up here.

Cincinnati Bengals 17 Denver Broncos 16

Pick against the spread: Denver +3.5

Confidence: Medium

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Cincinnati Bengals at Pittsburgh Steelers: 2016 Week 2 NFL Pick

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Cincinnati Bengals (1-0) at Pittsburgh Steelers (1-0)

The Steelers got a huge 38-16 win in Washington on Monday Night Football week 1, led by an offense that moved the chains at an 82.35% rate. They seem to have picked up right where they left off last season when Ben Roethlisberger was healthy. In his 12 starts last season, the Steelers moved the chains at a 75.00% rate, which would have been 5th best in the league over the whole season. Add in a solid defense and they’re a very formidable opponent once again this season. On top of that, teams tend to carryover the momentum from a big Monday Night win into the following week, as teams who win by 21+ on Monday Night Football are 34-15 ATS the following week since 2002.

Despite that, they’re favored by just a field goal here at home. The Bengals were one of the better teams in the league last season, especially before Andy Dalton went down for the season with a broken thumb week 14, but are not the same team this season. They lost two of their top-3 wide receivers (Marvin Jones and Mohamed Sanu) in free agency, as well as a pair of starters in the secondary (Leon Hall and Reggie Nelson). On top of that, they’re without talented tight end Tyler Eifert, talented linebacker Vontaze Burfict, first round pick William Jackson, and fourth round pick Andrew Billings with injury, after barely having any injuries outside of the quarterback position last year.

This line suggests these two teams are even. I disagree. I think the Steelers are better by a significant amount and, in a great spot coming off of a huge Monday Night Football win, are likely to win by a field goal or more. As long as this line is right at a field goal, this is my Pick of the Week. In some places, this line is 3.5. I’d still put money on 3.5, but it’d be a smaller play considering how many games are decided by exactly a field goal (1 in 6). I’d suggest paying to get -3 if you can get it at -125 or better.

Pittsburgh Steelers 27 Cincinnati Bengals 17

Pick against the spread: Pittsburgh -3

Confidence: Pick of the Week

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