Bengals vs. Football Team Point Spread: NFL Pre-Season Week 2 Odds, Prediction
The Cincinnati Bengals started the preseason the right way last week, winning 19-14 over the defending Super Bowl champion Buccaneers in Tampa Bay. The Washington Football Team trended in the opposite direction, dropping a 22-13 decision against the Patriots in New England.
Washington is a 5-point favourite to win on the NFL preseason odds, with a total of 34.5.
NFL Point Spread and Betting Analysis
This will be the third time these teams have met for a preseason game in Washington over the last four years. Washington won 23-17 in 2017, while the Bengals left with a 23-13 win in 2019. Cincinnati and Washington last squared off in the regular season in Week 11, last year. Washington won 20-9 at home, with quarterback Alex Smith throwing for 166 yards with one touchdown and an interception. Cinci’s rookie QB, Joe Burrow, threw for 203 yards and a TD, before suffering a season-ending knee injury.
Bengals head coach Zac Taylor is 2-3 all-time in preseason games, while Washington’s Ron Rivera is 20-17.
Cincinnati Bengals
Any hopes of seeing Burrow play in this game were squashed on Monday when Taylor announced Burrow wouldn’t dress this week. Taylor will likely split the game between Kyle Shurmur and Brandon Allen, again. Shurmur was 12-of-19 with 108 passing yards last week, while Allen was 7-of-10 with 77 yards. Neither quarterback had a touchdown and both threw one interception. Running backs Jacques Patrick and Chris Evans had strong games. Patrick rushed for 71 yards on 15 carries, while Evans rushed for 25 yards and a touchdown on 12 carries.
Defensive end Joseph Ossai was a force in the backfield, recording two tackles and a sack. Ossai matched up well with linebacker Darius Hodge, who recorded one tackle and 1.5 sacks. Both players need strong preseasons to make the final roster, so expect them to get a lot of playing time on Friday.
Washington Football Team
Despite a loss to the Pats last week, Washington looks like they’re shaping up nicely. New No. 1 QB Ryan Fitzpatrick looked solid, going 5-of-8 and throwing for 58 yards. Washington’s depth under centre looks better than it was last season. Taylor Heinicke went 9-of-15 for 86 passing yards. Steven Montez got the bulk of the snaps, finishing the game 17-of-24 for 108 passing yards, one touchdown and an interception. Montez likely won’t make the final roster as he is behind Kyle Allen, who is expected to play on Friday after sitting out last week with an ankle injury, on the depth chart. Right now it’s a battle between Allen and Heinicke for the backup QB job.
The rest of the team remains fairly healthy, although there’s some questions about wide receiver Curtis Samuel. Samuel has been dealing with a groin injury and was only activated off the PUP list on Sunday. He’s also been on the Reserve/COVID list for a couple weeks, so it’s uncertain if Rivera will play him on Friday or wait until next week.
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