Cincinnati vs. New York (CIN -3.5, 47.5)
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Cincinnati Bengals vs. New York Giants | Sunday, October 13, 2024
Despite being one of the hottest offenses in the NFL so far this year, it feels like the Cincinnati Bengals are already in must-win mode for every game. Their 1-4 record gives them an incredibly steep hill to climb to reach the playoffs, but we know that they have the talent on offense to do so. This week's fixture against the New York Giants is certainly one that they would expect to win, but they definitely don’t want to underestimate their opponents, who just delivered a stunning victory over the Seattle Seahawks, despite not having their primary weapon in Malik Nabers.
The Giants' defense has been one of the biggest surprises of the season, having registered the most sacks this year with 22. Dexter Lawrence has been the star of the show, already notching six sacks for himself and four tackles for loss. New signing Brian Burns has chipped in with two, in what has been a solid start for him in New York, though he probably still feels like there is room for improvement.
This will be a tough test for the Giants' D-line, though, going up against a Cincinnati Bengals offensive line that has been holding up pretty well this year. They have helped Joe Burrow stay on his feet and pass for 1,206 yards, 12 touchdowns, and just two interceptions in the last four weeks. Burrow has been as hot as any quarterback in the NFL, making use of his incredibly talented offensive playmakers.
Tee Higgins has looked great since coming back to the lineup, already collecting 182 yards and two touchdowns. His presence has also brought the best out in Ja’Marr Chase, who had a slow start to the season without Higgins on the field but has since exploded to reach 493 yards and five touchdowns after just five weeks. Andrei Iosivas continues to pop up with huge catches every game, and the running back duo of Chase Brown and Zack Moss is proving very effective.
As a result, Cincinnati has scored the fourth-most points per game this year with 28. So, how on earth do they have just a 1-4 record? The answer is their defense, which is giving up 29 points per game, ranking 31st in the NFL, and 365 yards per game, which is 26th. They cannot stop the run and have given up way too many big plays in the passing game. When you combine this with the fact that Cincinnati always tends to start the season slow, you get a disastrous 1-4 record to start the season, with plenty of tough games still to play.
A slide to a 1-5 record might just be terminal for this team, so they are going to have to make sure they stop Daniel Jones and an under-equipped Giants offense this weekend. Malik Nabers will likely return from his concussion, but even if he doesn’t, Jones proved that he can do some damage with Darius Slayton and their new rookie running back Tyrone Tracy. When you factor in Wan'Dale Robinson as one of the shiftiest slot receivers in the NFL, this Giants team suddenly looks a lot more intimidating than they did at the beginning of the year. This is a sneaky good game on the Week 6 slate, with a lot on the line for one of the AFC’s powerhouses.
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Bengals -3.5