Bengals vs. Patriots Point Spread: NFL Week 16 Odds, Prediction
The 10-4 Bengals took sole possession of first in the AFC North with last weekend’s 34-23 win at Tampa Bay. The 7-7 Patriots are now on the outside of the AFC playoff picture after a devastating 30-24 loss at Las Vegas Sunday, a loss suffered because of a bizarre series of lateral mistakes.
Saturday afternoon’s bout has huge implications for each club. First in the AFC is very much in the cards for the Bengals while the Patriots need wins to get back into the playoffs, as three weeks remain on the NFL schedule.
Kickoff at Gillette Stadium gets going at 1 p.m. EST and it’s Cincinnati entering as 3.5-point road favourites and the over-under at 41.5 on the NFL odds.
NFL Point Spread and Betting Analysis
Foxborough isn’t what it used to be without a certain quarterback under centre in New England, as the Pats are 3-3 on home field this season. The under has hit in four of the Patriots’ six home games, including four games with fewer than 35 total points. The under has been on a roll over a longer period of Bengals game, hitting in 13 of their last 19 outings.
Cincinnati’s also lost seven straight trips to New England, and have covered in only one of their last seven matchups with the Pats. But if the Bengals are to cover for their seventh straight game overall, a win would be mandatory. Cincinnati’s also 6-1 ATS on the road this season.
Cincinnati Bengals
Having Joe Burrow and a healthy Ja’Marr Chase has proven to be enough to give Cincinnati a chance to win games, but during this streak it’s been stellar defence lifting the Bengals. Over this six-game win streak, Cincinnati’s allowed over 24 points just once, and their defence generated five second-half turnovers in last Sunday’s 34-23 victory at Tampa Bay.
The turnovers led to shorter fields and Cincinnati only having 237 yards of offence. What matters is Cincinnati went four for five in the red zone and are fourth in the NFL with a 68 per cent red zone scoring rate. Chase, Tyler Boyd, Mitchell Wilcox, and Tee Higgins all hauled in touchdown passes from Burrow who now has 31 this season — the second-most in the NFL.
New England Patriots
It’s ironic that when running back Rhamondre Stevenson decided to pass the ball backwards to a teammate last week, New England’s offence had a major malfunction. The context to this is Mac Jones completed 13 of 31 passes for 112 yards in the loss, while the Patriots rushed for 206 yards. Stevenson led the way with 172 yards and a touchdown on 19 carries. He’s also 86 yards away from his first 1,000 yard season.
Jones is now averaging 210 passing yards in his 11 games this season, and New England is averaging 173 passing yards over their last three appearances. New England’s again near the top of the league with 22 takeaways, and even got a pick-six last week. But 19 giveaways is now starting to waste a top-seven defence in both points and yards allowed.
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