With twin records of 2-3, this is not where both the Cincinnati Bengals and New Orleans Saints wanted to be through 5 weeks of the 2022 NFL season. The Saints have only defeated the Falcons and Seahawks, and they even lost to the Panthers. Cincinnati’s wins have come at the expense of the Jets and a Dolphins team that was missing Tua Tagovailoa for much of the game. The Bengals’ Week 1 setback against the Steelers was bad at the time and now looks even worse.
Here are our predictions and best bets for this Bengals-Saints showdown.
Cincinnati Bengals vs New Orleans spread, odds & betting lines
Point Spread: Bengals -1.5, Saints +1.5
Total Points Over/Under: 43.5 points
Money Line Odds: Bengals -130, Saints +11
Cincinnati Bengals vs New Orleans expert picks
We have 2 NFL picks for this week’s clash between Cincinnati and New Orleans. Let’s take a look.
Against the spread pick: Bengals -1.5 (-110) over Saints
A Super Bowl hangover is occasionally limited to just the winner, but if you watched the Bengals for the first 2 weeks, you would have thought they not only won but were still celebrating their victory. They looked bad and got what they deserved, losing both games both straight up and against the spread to Pittsburgh and Dallas. However, Cincinnati has since won 2 of 3 – with loss only to Baltimore (on the road) by 2 points and a 3-0 ATS record during this stretch. Although this may be another road game for Cincy, former LSU stars Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase will feel right at home inside the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans. The Saints are 2-3 ATS despite beating the Seahawks last weekend and now face a much better defense in that of the Bengals. This Cincy unit isn’t going to let Taysom Hill go crazy like he did in Week 5.
The Bengals are allowing fewer than 100 rushing yards per game and have given up only 1 rushing touchdown. That puts the onus on either a subpar quarterback in Andy Dalton or Jameis Winston, who is dealing with small fractures in his back. On the other side of the ball, Cincinnati RB Joe Mixon is going against a New Orleans run defense that has surrendered 130 rushing yards per game and 4 TDs on the ground.
Over/Under totals pick: Under 43.5 (-110)
Through 5 games this season, the Bengals are 5-0 to the under while the Saints are 2-3 O/U. Each team has had its matchups against tough defenses, but the under has hit more due to a lack of true offensive firepower than anything else. The Bengals have averaged just 21.6 points per game and the Saints only 23, with the latter number only being that high because New Orleans inflated it by abusing the atrocious Seattle defense. Both teams are banged up at the receiver position, as Cincy WR Tee Higgins is questionable and all 3 of the Saints’ top WRs are out (Michael Thomas, Chris Olave and Jarvis Landry). Tight end Hayden Hurst is also questionable for the Bengals. All things considered, this looks like another game for Cincinnati.