Welcome to week 2 in the NFL. Piggybacking off of my 60%+ winners against the spread AND with the over/under, we’re starting week 2 with a toughie. Lets get to it!
Houston Texans @ Cincinnati Bengals, 8:25p (Bengals -6, O/U: 38):
Yeah you better believe these two teams will keep this puppy in the under. The way the offenses looked in the openers last week, I wouldn’t be surprised if this is a battle of the kickers. Houston’s offensive line was atrocious last week but we’re not pointing any fingers or nothing (*ahem* Right Tackle Kendall Lamm *ahem*). Lamm allowed 3 sacks alone, Xavier Su’aFilo allowed 2 at Left Guard and Left Tackle Chris Clark allowed one. Savage and Watson were sacked a combined 10 times last week…….10! That line was worse than a leaking faucet, it was a gushing dam breaking wide open.
Wild card for this week, Watson is starting. Savage couldn’t get rid of the ball fast enough and he looked like he was stuck in cement. Watson brings a more mobile ability to the position to get out of the pocket but he’s still a rookie, still developing his pro chops.
The Bengals showed their worst side of their game. Having an average franchise quarterback. Dalton has been in this system for years now and still shows nasty inconsistency, even with the weapons he has. The running game was average. Bernard averaged over 5 yards per carry but had a 23 yard run mixed in there. The other 6 carries yielded him less than a 3 yard average. Hill averaged almost 4.5 yards per carry but had a 12 yard run in there, meaning the other 5 averaged less than 3 yards. The only thing the Bengals had going for them was their defense didn’t give up a ton. The only reason the Ravens put up 20 was because of all of the Bengals turnovers. I mean, neither team cracked 275 net yards! BORING!
Expect this one to be boring as well, maybe even just as sloppy, which makes this prediction that much harder! I like Watson getting the start but their defense will suffer with the loss of Brian Cushing to a concussion and 10 game PED suspension, among many other injuries to the squad. Look for the Bengals to pull it together, somewhat, as a do-over for their fans tonight. Bengals 20-13.
Necessary Roughness 