Philadelphia vs. Cincinnati (LAC -7, 41.5)
NFL ODDS, NFL PREDICTIONS, NFL PREVIEWS
Philadelphia vs. Cincinnati | Sunday, October 27, 2024
The Philadelphia Eagles have forced themselves back in the right direction in the last two weeks, with wins over both the Cleveland Browns and New York Giants bringing them back to a respectable 4-2 record. That puts them just one game back from the Washington Commanders, with a game in hand, and an upcoming chance to make a statement on the road against the Cincinnati Bengals.
Joe Burrow and company have played the same two opponents as the Eagles, beating both Cleveland and the New York Giants to bring themselves back to 3-4 after a rocky start to the year. In fact, in their last four the only loss they’ve suffered was a closely contested overtime game against the Ravens.
This game will be a firm indicator on where exactly both teams are at this point in the season. Both are playoff hopefuls who have underwhelmed at points so far this season, but the winner of this game likely earns a bump in respect from the general NFL consensus.
The Eagles signing of Saquon Barkley has proven one of the league's most effective this year, with Philly ranking second in rushing yards per game (166.7), third in total rushes per game (33.5) and fourth in rushing touchdowns per game (1.5). Barkley has been the number one factor in that, with 662 rushing yards and five touchdowns on the ground through just six games.
The defense showed out against the Giants, and seems to be slowly finding a rhythm under Vic Fangio and his complex system. Rookie corner Quinyon Mitchell looks the real deal, allowing zero touchdowns so far this year, while posting six pass breakups through six games. He’ll certainly be tested this weekend with a visit against Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins.
The Bengals offense has however had to lean heavily on the pass game, with a struggling Zach Moss now losing reps to former Illinois product Chase Brown. Cincinnati opted not to pay Joe Mixon to stay in the offseason, and are now paying the price for the lack of production out of the running back group. They rank 28th in rushing yards per game (94.3), 27th in total rushes per game, and are averaging less than a rushing touchdown per game.
That puts a lot of the offensive pressure on quarterback Joe Burrow, who has largely handled it extremely well. He threw five touchdown passes against the rival Ravens just a couple of weeks ago, and is protecting the football well with 14 total touchdown passes to just two interceptions.
Only five teams run more pass plays than the Bengals on average, and they rank 4th in completion percentage (70.35%), and 8th in passing yards per game (237.4), and yards per pass (7.8).
The Bengals biggest issue defensively has been applying pressure, with only Trey Hendrickson proving a real threat with 7 sacks, while no other player on the roster has more than two. They rank 30th in sacks as a team, and are struggling to get off the field because of it. The Bengals defense is 24th in third down conversion allowed, 26th in fourth down conversion allowed, and 27th in opposition red zone scoring. The unit will have their work cut out against the Eagles this weekend.
J.A. Cavalier NFL Triple Crown 6-0 NFL Guarantee. 3 straight, 3 parlays. One Week NFL $99 must go 6-0 or entire NFL season free. Straight through Super Bowl.
Get free NFL Picks and NFL Predictions for the top games on the weekly 2024 NFL schedule from JA Cavalier, one of the industry's premier expert NFL handicappers. J.A. Cavalier has been bringing the NFL betting community the best NFL free picks and predictions for nearly three decades. Visit daily for the best NFL moneyline and run line odds and game totals.
Coach Rick Free PICK
Bengals -2.5