Will the Bengals remain without a win for the third game in a row?
The Cincinnati Bengals will host the Los Angeles Rams on Monday night. In advance, bettors favour the home side, but with two defeats in a row, the hosts seem to be in a bit of a form crisis.
The visitors therefore have a good opportunity to beat the stumbling favourites. In our opinion, the bookmakers’ betting odds between the Cincinnati Bengals and Los Angeles Rams are therefore a little too far apart.
Cincinnati still has to fear for Joe Burrow before the game against the Rams. The Bengals quarterback has been struggling with a calf injury for some time and was therefore listed as questionable. As a result, Jake Browning, who is already 27, could make his debut as the starting quarterback. For the home side, this would of course be a bitter loss, without wanting to get too close to the replacement. For this reason, the odds should be rather even between the Cincinnati Bengals and Los Angeles Rams.
We recommend betting on a Kyren Williams touchdown between the Cincinnati Bengals and Los Angeles Rams. The running back of the visiting team is in an outstanding condition and has already scored four touchdowns. He has even been successful as a receiver and is therefore very difficult to defend. In his second NFL season, Williams seems to have really taken off.
Kickoff for this match is Tuesday at 02:15 at Paul Brown Stadium in Cincinnati. The match can be watched live and in full on DAZN.
Cincinnati Bengals – Statistics & current form
Cincinnati lost significantly with 3:24 against the Cleveland Browns to open the new season and made an extremely weak game. In week two, the Bengals were able to improve their performance, but still lost 24:27 against the Baltimore Ravens.
This leaves Zac Taylor’s team in last place in the AFC North after two days of play. Since the home side plays in the same division as the Browns and the Ravens, the two defeats hurt all the more. The hosts should therefore not afford another slip-up so early in the new season and are already under a lot of pressure against the Rams.
Historic Deal
Joe Burrow signed a new contract with the Cincinnati Bengals just before the start of the season and it had it all. The quarterback of the home side extended his existing contract by five years and collected a total of 275 million euros. The 26-year-old American thus became the highest-paid player in NFL history. With only 304 passing yards in the first two games, however, the record seems to be more of a burden so far.
With only 212 yards per game, the Bengals currently have the weakest offence in the National Football League. After just two days of play, however, this fact should not be overestimated, because after the total loss in game one, Cincinnati already showed a completely different face in week two. Quarterback Joe Burrow threw passes for 222 yards, had a 66% passing rate, and was able to help his team with two touchdown passes.
Weak running game
In addition to the weak passing game, the home side has not been convincing in the running game either. With only 70 rushing yards per game, the Bengals are also very low in this category. It almost seems as if almost all players in Zay Taylor’s team have slept through the start of the season. Even the two superstars Jamar Chase and Joe Mixon were far from their best.
The Bengals also had problems defensively and allowed 51 points in the first two games. In the process, Cincinnati’s defence didn’t look particularly good against the run game. The Pittsburgh Steelers are the only team in the National Football League to have allowed more rushing yards so far. Fortunately, the Rams’ offense isn’t particularly strong against the run, so this weakness shouldn’t matter as much.
Key Cincinnati Bengals:
- QB: Joe Burrow (questionable)
- RB: Joe Mixon
- WR: Tee Higgins
- WR: Jamar Chase
- K:Evan McPherson
Los Angeles Rams – Statistics & current form
Los Angeles won 30:13 against the Seattle Seahawks at the start of the new season. The victory was somewhat surprising, especially in the amount and so not foreseen. Following this game, however, the Rams lost 23:30 to the San Francisco 49ers and were thus brought back down to earth.
The visitors are now in second place in the NFC West behind the 49ers, ahead of the Seahawks and Cardinals. Nevertheless, winning the division will be difficult for the visiting team, as San Francisco are the clear favourites and are already on three wins after three games.
Good start
Matthew Stafford is fourth in league-wide passing yards among quarterbacks with 641. As a result, he consistently manages to lead his offense down the field and into the dangerous zone. Nevertheless, the veteran has thrown only one touchdown pass so far and should work on this statistic a bit more. However, with the season still very young, the Rams still have plenty of time to work on getting receivers into the end zone more often.
With 315.5 passing yards per game, the Rams are one of the best offenses in the NFL in the passing game. The Minnesota Vikings and Miami Dolphins are the only two teams that have been more successful in this category so far.
Two receivers stand out in particular and those are Puka Nacua (questionable) and Tutu Atwell. The latter already stands at 196 yards and could celebrate his big breakthrough this season. In the preseason, the 23-year-old American had only 298 receiving yards in 13 appearances.
Air to the top
The Rams definitely have room to improve in the running game, as LA’s 90.5 rushing yards per game ranks just 22nd in the league.However, that doesn’t mean the visitors’ running backs are weak in form, quite the opposite. Kyren Williams is currently one of the best scorers at his position, alongside McCaffrey and Raheem Mostert, and has already scored three touchdowns.
The Rams conceded 43 points in the first two games, but were in a very good position overall. Sean McVay’s team allowed an average of only 272.5 yards and thus ranks seventh in the league. Nevertheless, LA’s defence has a small weak point and that is the opposing running game. On average, the visitors allow their opponents 122 rushing yards and that is just too much.
Key players for the Los Angeles Rams:
- QB: Matthew Stafford
- RB: Cam Akers
- RB: Kyren Williams
- WR: Tutu Atwell
- WR: Puka Nacua (questionable)
Cincinnati Bengals – Los Angeles Rams Head-to-head comparison / H2H record
The direct comparison between the two teams goes narrowly to the home side. The Bengals won ten duels against the Rams, while the visitors are on eight wins. The last time the two teams faced each other in a must-win game was in the 2022 Super Bowl.
Back then, LA won 23:20 and thus claimed the title. Therefore, we also expect a very close match next Tuesday. It would therefore be no surprise if our prediction between the Cincinnati Bengals and Los Angeles Rams hits the mark.
Cincinnati Bengals – Los Angeles Rams Tip
We’re playing the Cincinnati Bengals and Los Angeles Rams betting tip at over 40.5 points. The home side have shown in week two that the qualities are there on offence and the first day of play is merely an exception. With Tee Higgins, Jamar Chase and Joe Mixon, the hosts have one of the most dangerous trios in the NFL and should therefore find their way into the end zone a time or two. On the other hand, the defence has looked very vulnerable recently, so that the visitors can and will also bring their strengths onto the field.
Alternatively, between the Cincinnati Bengals and Los Angeles Rams, we recommend the odds for a win for the away team with a handicap of +4.5. Joe Burrow will definitely not be at 100% next Tuesday.
So the home side’s offence will be weakened whether their quarterback plays or not. Therefore, we can even imagine the guests taking home a win.
