The Cincinnati Bengals are now on top of the AFC North division, but they’re far from securing that position for good. A game against the lowly New York Jets offers the Bengals a great chance to add more wins to their ledger, but will the one-win Jets pull off an upset? Check out our preview of this game below.
By beating the Baltimore Ravens in such a dominant manner in Week 7, the Bengals emphatically proved that they are for real. Joe Burrow threw for 416 yards and three touchdowns with an interception on 23/38 completions against the Bengals. He certainly is enjoying having college teammate Ja’Marr Chase downfield. Chase is looking like the runaway leader in the race to the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year award, and he just made his case a whole lot stronger by going off for 201 receiving yards and a touchdown on eight catches against the Bengals. New York might not have an answer to that kind of passing attack by the Bengals, who are seventh in the NFL with 27.0 points per game. Also, the Jets had just been carved up for over 300 yards and two touchdowns by Mac Jones last Sunday.
The Bengals are 4-1 against the spread in their last five games as a road favorite.
Apart from losing to the New England Patriots in Week 7, 54-13, the Jets have also lost rookie quarterback Zach Wilson due to a knee injury. With Wilson expected to be out for multiple weeks, the Jets traded for veteran quarterback Joe Flacco, who should be the team’s starter as early as Week 8’s game against the Bengals. Flacco has yet to play this season, but he’s familiar with the Jets, having played for the team in 2020. He’s not going to perform miracles for the Jets, but he should be able to raise the ceiling for at least a bit for the team’s offense that is averaging just 13.3 points per game. With Flacco, guys like Corey Davis and Jamison Crowder along with Ty Johnson could be more productive downfield and offer a bigger challenge to Cincy’s pass defense that’s just 20th in interception rate and 17th in pass defense with 245.9 passing yards allowed per game.
The Jets are 5-2 against the spread in their last 7 games as a home underdog.
