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Andrew Rogers
Bears vs. Bengals Point Spread: NFL Week 14 Odds, Prediction
It was a brutal loss for the Bengals, who squandered a 17-point lead to see their playoff hopes all but disappear. The Bears can relate – they’re also out of the playoff race and are coming off a one-point loss to San Francisco.
Point Spread and Betting Analysis
It might be hard for bettors to trust Cincinnati as a two-field-goal favourite against anyone at this point – but while blowing a double-digit lead to a division rival was a tough pill to swallow, the Bengals still managed to cover. That makes four covers in a row for Cincinnati, which is 4-1 ATS in its last five games following a straight-up defeat. Chicago has covered just once in its previous six road games, and is 0-4-1 ATS in its last five games overall.
This game has a microscopic total of 37.5 as of Tuesday night – and with both teams trending toward the under, the low number is no surprise. Chicago has gone below the total in nine of its previous 12 games after failing to cover the previous week, and is 1-6 O/U in its last seven after failing to score more than 15 points in its prior game. Cincinnati has gone under the total in 12 of its last 16 games against teams with losing records.
Chicago Bears
Offensive struggles have plagued the Bears throughout their five-game losing skid, as they’ve scored more than 16 points just once over that span. In fairness, Chicago has had to deal with a litany of injuries – and more bad news came down the pike Tuesday, as the Bears learned they’ll be without right guard Kyle Long for the rest of the season with a shoulder injury. He was placed on IR, along with defensive lineman Mitch Unrein.
Cincinnati Bengals
The Bengals know all about offensive doldrums; they come into Week 14 ranked second-last in the NFL in average yards per game (280.8), 27th in third-down conversion rate (35.2 percent) and 23rd in touchdowns per game (2.2). Quantity hasn’t equaled quality in the running game; despite having Joe Mixon, Giovani Bernard and Jeremy Hill combining for 239 carries, Cincinnati averages a paltry 3.4 yards per attempt – 30th out of 32 NFL teams.
