The Cincinnati Bengals are traveling to play the Baltimore Ravens in a Sunday Night Football matchup that closes out a busy day in Week 5 of the 2022 NFL season.
The line opened last week with the Ravens a 2.5-point pick. As of midday Thursday, the number was 3 at DraftKings, FanDuel, BetMGM, and PointsBet.
Let’s take a look at the latest Bengals vs. Ravens odds on Sunday night as well as our prediction.
SNF Odds: Point Spread, Moneyline, Total
Here are Sunday Night Football odds from around the sports betting marketplace as the Bengals are underdogs for the first time this season.
NFL · Sun (10/9) @ 8:22pm ET
| CIN Bengals | at | BAL Ravens |
| M&T Bank Stadium, Baltimore, Maryland | ||
Bengals-Ravens AFC North Battle on SNF
At least a share of first place in the AFC North will be at stake in this battle between defending division champion Cincinnati and Baltimore. Both are 2-2 to begin the season.
The Bengals, on a two-game winning streak, have the benefit of coming off an extended break after their Thursday night home victory over Miami, 27-15. But over the past two weeks, all four teams with such extra rest lost their next outing despite being a favorite.
Baltimore, meanwhile, is playing its second straight home game after falling to Super Bowl favorite Buffalo last week 23-20, squandering a 17-point lead in the process. It was their fifth straight home defeat. Two weeks earlier, they blew a 21-point advantage in a 42-38 home loss to Miami.
At this stage of the season last year, though, the Ravens and QB Lamar Jackson were the ones in comeback mode, rallying from a 19-point deficit against Indianapolis and winning in overtime, 31-25.
In the Bengals’ win over the previously unbeaten Dolphins, they managed to keep QB Joe Burrow relatively clean, allowing only one sack after yielding 13 total the first two weeks but gave RB Joe Mixon little room to run. He totaled 61 yards on 24 carries with a long of seven. That’s quite a drop-off from last year when he was the league’s third-leading rusher.
Baltimore’s running game is much more productive, ranking eight overall (Cincinnati is 26th), but Jackson is doing the damage, having led the team in yards each of the past three games. Without his ground production, Baltimore would rank last, which isn’t the recipe for winning. Over the past two seasons, teams have gone 15-46 straight up (SU) in games when their QB leads the rushing attack (excludes three games when both teams were led in rushing by their QBs).
But then again, it seems Ravens RBs are always hurt (J.K. Dobbins – chest, Justice Hill – hamstring).
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Bengals vs. Ravens SNF Prediction
Baltimore’s defense has been catching a lot of flak and well-deserved, for only Detroit and Seattle are giving up more yards a game. That’s quite a contrast to the Ravens team that topped that chart four years ago.
But with the Bengals struggling in the running game, averaging 3.1 yards a carry, Baltimore defenders likely will have Burrow ducking for cover while he tries to move the team through the air. And speedy Tee Higgins (ankle, questionable), who leads the team in receiving yards, might not play.
Offensively, the Ravens are tied for third with 14 touchdowns, and not just because of Jackson’s runs. He’s also the league’s fourth-ranked passer and is tied for the lead with 11 TD throws. But he might have to do without speedy WR Rashod Bateman (foot, questionable).
Prediction: Ravens 30, Bengals 20
Also read: NFL Week 5 betting picks and predictions | NFL Week 5 player props and anytime TD scorer bets
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