Bengals vs. Titans Point Spread: NFL Week 4 Odds, Prediction
-
Edgar Chaput
Disaster was avoided on Monday night when the Cincinnati Bengals took care of business, with some difficulty, by defeating the Rams 19-16. Conversely, the Tennessee Titans are wondering what the Ohio licence plate number is of the Browns truck that hit them 27-3.
As per the NFL odds, the Bengals sit as -2.5 favourites.
NFL Point Spread and Betting Analysis
Cincy has Tennessee’s number, regardless of who the quarterback or coach has been. The Ohio-based franchise has emerged victorious in five of the previous six meetings, including a dramatic Divisional Round playoff win in January 2022. Three of those five wins have come in Nashville for that matter.
The Bengals have yet to cover a spread this season, yet they haven’t entirely failed each week. After losing the first two tries, Week 3 was a push, as Cincy won by three points and was favoured by exactly that amount.
One supposes that being the underdog on a weekly basis has its benefits. Look no further than the Titans’ 2-1 record ATS. Their only blemish thus far was how poorly they fared in Cleveland despite being a 3.5 dog.
Cincinnati Bengals
It remains to be seen if all the Bengals’ problems are solved in the aftermath of Monday night’s narrow 19-16 victory over the Los Angeles Rams. That said, if the last two years are anything to go by, opponents should not want Cincinnati to get some wind in its sails.
It wasn’t perfect against L.A. but they got the job done. With the potential of a 0-3 record staring them in the face, just getting it done was all that mattered. For all the hoopla surrounding the Bengals’ attacking force, it was the defence and especially the secondary that won the night. The Rams were only 1-for-11 on third down and linebacker Logan Wilson had two INTs. Joe Burrow still hasn’t quite found his groove (26-for-49, 259 yards and a pick) and RB Joe Mixon, so integral in past years, hasn’t been a big factor through three weeks either.
But as alluded to earlier, the Bengals were slow in 2021 and 2022 yet played a Super Bowl and a conference championship game those seasons. Give Ja’Marr Chase and company an inch and they’ll take a mile.
TE Irving Smith Jr. is questionable.
Tennessee Titans
Whatever happened to the Titans side that was 7-3 at one point in 2022 is anyone’s guess. Momentum is a funny thing. Free agency and injuries don’t help either. All that said, this Tennessee outfit simply does not look like the one that fought for the AFC South crown several seasons in a row.
Mike Vrabel’s men were obliterated 27-3 in Cleveland last week. We quoted several key stats in the Ravens-Browns preview, but they bear repeating. Six first downs, 2-for-12 on third down, 98 total yards of offence. That’s passing and rushing combined for a team that features Derrick Henry (11 carries, 20 yards, 1.8 yards per touch). The pressure put on Ryan Tannehill by Cleveland’s front seven was beguiling, but numbers still tell a chunk of the story: 13-for-25 for 104 yards, averaging 4.2 yards per pass. There was no way Tennessee was ever going to win the game with those stats.
After three weeks the Titans are 31nd in yards per tilt. Other than the Chargers match, they’ve looked very bad.
S Mike Brown and RB Julius Chestnut are on IR. OT Peter Skoronski is questionable.
CIN
TEN