After punctuating their three-game homestand with an embarrassing loss to the Cleveland Browns, the Cincinnati Bengals will now begin a three-game road trip that starts in arguably the toughest place to get a win – the Superdome. The New Orleans Saints, however, no longer have that indestructible image at home, having lost to the San Francisco 49ers last Sunday. Will Cincinnati give the Saints their second straight home loss? Or will New Orleans defang the Bengals?
Looking for more NFL Week 11 game previews? You can check out our complete breakdown of Steelers vs. Titans here and Patriots vs. Colts here.
[sc:Football ]Cincinnati Bengals vs. New Orleans Saints Betting Preview and Prediction
Where: Mercedes-Benz Superdome, New Orleans
When: Sunday, November 16, 1:00 PM ET
Line: Cincinnati Bengals (+7) at New Orleans Saints (-7); total: 50.5 – see all NFL lines
Betting on the Cincinnati Bengals
Andy Dalton looked nothing like a quarterback with a nine-digit paycheck last week. Rather, he played like someone who was salaried a bag of peanuts when the Bengals lost 24-3 to the Cleveland Browns in Week 10. Dalton could rectify his sullied image, though, if he could steer the Bengals into a road win against New Orleans on Sunday.
[sc:NFL240banner ]During that forgettable game against the Browns, Dalton completed just 10 of his 33 passes. In addition, he had three interceptions and was sacked twice. Making matters worse for Cincinnati is its backfield’s inability to give the team palpable support. The Bengals only had 86 rushing yards against the Browns, which could be directly attributed to the absence of top running back Gio Bernard (hip).
The Bengals won’t have it any easier on the ground next Sunday against the Saints, who are 10th in the league with just 106.8 rushing yards allowed per game. However, New Orleans’ questionable passing defense poses a great opportunity for Dalton to recover from his Week 10 malaise. Along with top receivers Mohamed Sanu (648 receiving yards, 4 touchdowns), Jermaine Gresham (276 yards), and A.J. Green (381 yards, 3 touchdowns), Dalton could be in line for a bounce back game against a New Orleans squad that surrenders 259.2 passing yards per game.
The over is 4-2 in the Bengals’ last six games overall.
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Betting on the New Orleans Saints
The Saints are beatable at home after all, as proven by their 27-24 overtime loss to the San Francisco 49ers Sunday. But visiting teams must take note that winning in the Superdome remains a difficult task to accomplish.
To pull off the road victory, San Francisco had to take advantage of the Saints’ defensive miscues. We wouldn’t be talking about a Saints’ home loss now had their secondary finished its homework. They allowed Colin Kaepernick to find Michael Crabtree for a fourth-down 51-yard catch that eventually led to a game-tying field goal by Phil Dawson late in the fourth quarter. Adding to the bitterness of the loss was Jimmy Graham’s nullified game-winning touchdown after he was called for offensive pass interference.
Overall, the Saints had three errors in that game, the last being a strip-sack of Ahmad Brooks on Drew Brees in the overtime. The other two turnovers were interceptions off Brees.
Obviously, the Saints screwed themselves up in this game, and they will have to learn from this lesson when they get a visit from the Bengals, who are among the league leaders in interceptions (10) and total takeaways (14). Brees, however, will likely have a bigger breathing room in the pocket as the Bengals only have 13 sacks to show thus far this season.
One player who must be raring to go against Cincinnati is Saints’ running back Mark Ingram. Ingram recorded his third-straight game with 100 rushing yards or more against San Francisco, rushing for 120 yards on 27 carries. Ingram and the rest of the Saints’ backfield will next face Cincinnati’s defense that gives up a 31st-ranked 143.0 rushing yards per game.
New Orleans is 9-1 SU and 7-2-1 ATS in its last 10 games as the home team.
Writer’s Prediction
New Orleans (-7) wins, 38-31.
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