Bengals 2.5-Point Favorites Against Seahawks

How often have the Bengals been considered the "favorites" heading into their games this season? The answer? Not often, unless you're a Bengals fan, then they are favorites every week. But this week things are changing.

With the Bengals traveling to Seattle to face-off against the Seahawks, Cincinnati is considered a 2.5 point favorite over Seattle. Despite their lack of success in Seattle over the last 17 years they are considered the favorites. Seventeen years ago, that was the last time Cincinnati defeated Seattle in Seattle.

When comparing both teams it's obvious that Seattle has a weak offense with very few weapons. The only semi-legitimate threats are Marshawn Lynch, Sidney Rice, and Doug Baldwin. Other than that, they have nothing.

With Tavaris Jackson's status unknown for Sunday the Seahawks alternative at quarterback is Charlie Whitehurst. And do I need to remind anyone of his performance against Cleveland? Well just in case you forgot, he only completed 12 of his 30 passes for 97 yards and one interception. Those are some awful numbers. 

And with the Bengals having one of the top ranked defenses in the league, it's hard to imagine Seattle being able to mustard out anything offensively, especially if Whitehurst starts. As for the Bengals, they have had more luck on offense. 

Despite being ranked in the bottom half of the league in offense, Cincinnati has been able to put up points. Cincinnati has only scored less than 20 points one time this season, whereas Seattle has managed to score more than 20 points only two times. 

With Andy Dalton and A.J. Green, the Bengals have one of the more exciting duos to watch. Green has had a monstrous rookie campaign, while Dalton has proven that he's capable of competing with the big boys. But unlike Seattle, Cincinnati has more weapons outside of those two. Jermaine Gresham has been having a solid sophomore season and isn't falling short of expectations.   

For once the odds aren't against the Bengals heading into Sunday. And hopefully they won't disappoint all of us in Bengals Nation.