Cincinnati Bengals at Chicago Bears Betting Preview
After a Week 1 victory, the Cincinnati Bengals head to Soldier Field to square off with the Chicago Bears in NFL Week 2. The Bears did not fare as well as the Bengals in NFL Week 1, losing to the Rams 34-14 on Monday Night Football.
The Bengals rolled past the Vikings, 27-24 last Sunday. It was second-year quarterback Joe Burrow’s first game since tearing his ACL in his rookie season. Burrow looked outstanding in his return, as did all of his receiving core.
Chicago met the Rams and their potent offense in NFL Week 1 on Monday Night Football, and as expected, it wasn’t pretty. Los Angeles made light work of the Bears’ defense and won 34-14. Veteran quarterback Andy Dalton failed to throw a touchdown pass and only had 202 yards on the game.
The Bears head into NFL Week 2 as 1 point favorites in their own house, according to BetOnline sportsbook. Kickoff is set for 1 EST on Sunday.
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Bengals Offense Could be Potent in 2021
With Joe Burrow back under center, this Bengals offense could end up one of the top-ranked offenses in the NFL this season. Burrow exploded on Sunday for 261 yards on 74.1% passing. He put 2 in the endzone and didn’t turn the ball over once. He did all this while being sacked five times.
Cincinnati’s offensive line has to keep Burrow upright before he ends up with another injury. They had the opportunity to grab Peneii Sewell to bolster the line in the draft, but instead chose former Burrow wideout, Jamarr Chase. While the five sacks loomed large, Chase caught 5 passes for 101 yards and a score in Week 1.
Joe Mixon was in on much of the offensive action as well. Mixon had 150 yards from scrimmage and 1 TD on 31 touches. If Mixon continues to see 30 touches per game, great job to the fantasy owners who drafted him. Volume matters.
Early Tension
There were a few interesting statements from coordinators and players after Monday’s loss that made fans and pundits wonder, is Matt Nagy losing this team? While that remains unknown, Bears’ fans may start some odd chants at Soldier Field on Sunday if he doesn’t put Justin Fields in the game.
In a way, you have to feel bad for Andy Dalton. The NFL Week 1 loss was far from Dalton’s fault, but the Bears also drafted a 1st round QB, and in this age, they are expected to play right away. Dalton finished the night on Monday with 202 yards on 27 for 38 passing, but also threw a pick in the red zone.
Matthew Stafford torched the Bears’ secondary on Monday night, which doesn’t bode well for Sunday. If the Bears want to stay in this game, they have to figure out how to keep Joe Burrow horizontal. If he has time, he will pick them apart.
Bengals Win Big
Against a weak Bears secondary, Joe Burrow will have a field day at Soldier Field. It also doesn’t hurt that the Bears are favored in this one.
There’s no way the Bears can fix enough defensive holes before Sunday to stop the Bengals’ offense, and they don’t have enough offensive firepower to keep up with this version of them. We just don’t see any path to victory for the Bears, even if they put Justin Fields in the game.
Free Pick
The Bengals are at +1, so there isn’t much reason to take the spread here. BetOnline has them at +115 on the moneyline, and that’s where we like them. We also like the over at 45 points.
The Bengals get it done on the road, take them at +115 and over 45 at -110.
