CINCINNATI — The Bengals are back in a familiar underdog role this week. Baltimore is a 3-point betting favorite to beat the Bengals at Paycor Stadium on Sunday, with the point total set at 52.5.
The Bengals enter this elimination game having to beat the Ravens, or they will be officially booted from playoff contention in the AFC. Cincinnati is 4-9 overall and 6-7 against the spread this season, while Baltimore is 6-7 and 4-9 ATS.
The team just dropped a brutal 39-34 game to Buffalo, where they held multiple double-digit leads, but blew their chance. They were 16-1 under Zac Taylor when leading by 10-plus points at half. Our Jay Morrison noted the only other loss before yesterday was the Week 8 debacle against New York.
Alas, it’s been that kind of season in Cincinnati, launching them to a guaranteed losing record for the first time since Joe Burrow’s rookie season. They hold a 3.4% chance to make the playoffs, with the only path being a division title.
The Bengals are just trying to put on a good show and keep the dwindling hopes alive.
“Just keep picking each other up,” Taylor said in Buffalo. “It was a hard-fought game. We had our moments. They had a couple more. I still believe in these guys. I know we’re up against the wall here with whatever our opportunities are, but we’ve got a big home game this week in the division, so we’ve got to be able to pick ourselves up and find a way to respond.”
The Baltimore action kicks off at 1 p.m. ET on Sunday.
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