What does a defending division champ have to do to get respect in NFL preseason odds? Cincinnati won the AFC North last season yet they are 23.5 to 1 to win the Super Bowl. They are the third choice to win the AFC North in NFL preseason betting behind Baltimore and Pittsburgh.
NFL preseason odds on the Bengals have them opening up in the Hall of Fame Game against the Dallas Cowboys on August 8th. Since the Bengals play in the Hall of Fame Game they will have five preseason contests. They host Denver in the official Week 1 of the preseason and then host the Eagles in Week 2. They finish up with road games at Buffalo and at Indianapolis.
The Bengals did win the AFC North last season but they did not finish strongly as they lost four of their last five games including a playoff loss to the New York Jets. The Cincinnati offense was very one dimensional last season and eventually teams figured out that the Bengals couldn’t throw the ball. Quarterback is simply not the same quarterback he was years ago. He was just 16th in the league last season with an 83.6 passer rating. The Bengals have a solid running game led by Cedric Benson but whether he can stay out of trouble off the field is always an issue. The Bengals made some additions to their passing attack. Chad Ochocinco is still a good receiver but he is not great. The Bengals acquired Antonio Bryant in free agency and they took tight end Jermaine Gresham with their first-round draft choice. The Bengals also took Jordan Shipley from Texas and Dezmon Briscoe from Kansas, and they added former Jacksonville receiver Matt Jones.
The defense for Cincinnati was pretty good last season but the loss of Antwan Odom really hurt. He should be healthy going into NFL preseason betting and the Bengals added Carlos Dunlap in the draft. The Bengals have a solid line backing corps led by Dhani Jones and Rey Maualuga. The secondary is good with Leon Hall and Johnathan Joseph.
The Bengals let kicker Shayne Graham go to Baltimore so they have no proven kicker and that is a huge concern that probably won’t go away in NFL preseason odds. They are going with Dave Rayner or Mike Nugent. Look for the Bengals to lose games this season because they don’t have a reliable kicker.