The Cincinnati Bengals are about to embark on a new chapter of their franchise, as they will be unleashing the Joe Burrow era this coming Sunday against the visiting Los Angeles Chargers, who will also be parading a new quarterback, albeit a veteran one. Check out our preview of this game below.
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Betting Preview for the Los Angeles Chargers vs Cincinnati Bengals Regular Season Week 1 Game on September 13, 2020
Where: Paul Brown Stadium, Cincinnati
When: Sunday, September 13, 2020, 4:05 PM ET
Line: Los Angeles Chargers (-3) vs Cincinnati Bengals (+3) – view all 2020 NFL lines
TV Broadcast: CBS
Betting on the Los Angeles Chargers (-3)
Regular Season Record: 0-0
Chargers fans will have to get used to not seeing Philip Rivers under center for their team. With Rivers now off to the Indianapolis Colts, the Chargers will be relying on Tyrod Taylor to handle the signal-calling on the field. Taylor should bring a dynamism to the Chargers’ offense. Unlike Rivers, Taylor can move the chains with his legs and is more mobile when moving in and outside the pocket. So far in his career, Taylor has 9,562 passing yards and 54 touchdowns with 20 interceptions. Being a starter is not new to Taylor, who started before for the Buffalo Bills and the Cleveland Browns. In 2015, while with the Bills, Taylor rushed for 568 yards and four touchdowns on 104 carries (5.5 yards per carry) and was selected to the Pro Bowl. The Chargers lost running back Melvin Gordon over the offseason, but they still have Austin Ekeler, who’s also a threat in the passing attack. On defense, Bengals rookie quarterback Joe Burrow will be hounded by Joey Bosa and Melvin Ingram, who had 18.5 sacks last season between them.
The over is 4-1 in the Chargers’ last five games.
Betting on the Cincinnati Bengals (+3)
Regular Season Record: 0-0
It’s time to see what the Bengals tanked for last season could do in the pros. Of course, we are talking about Burrow, the Heisman-Trophy winning quarterback, who also went No. 1 overall in the last NFL Draft. Burrow is expected to rejuvenate the Bengals’ offense that averaged just 17.4 points per game last season — third-worst in the NFL. Burrow does have the weapons to do just that, as veteran wide receiver AJ Green is finally healthy after missing 23 of the last 24 Cincy games because of injuries. On the ground, Burrow can trust the ball in the arms of Joe Mixon, who had 1,147 rushing yards and five touchdowns for the Bengals a year ago. The Bengals’ defense is respectable at the very least, as it still has the likes of Carlos Dunlap and Carl Lawson plus a new acquisition in DJ Reader. The secondary also got a boost with the signing of Trae Waynes, a former first-round pick by the Minnesota Vikings.
The Bengals are 2-1 against the spread in their last three games at home.
Writer’s Prediction
The Chargers win, 27-23.
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