Bengals vs Ravens: Odds, expert picks, analysis, predictions for NFL Week 2

The Bengals and Ravens both won their games in Week 1 in very different ways. Baltimore waltzed to a 47-3 victory over Buffalo. Meanwhile, Cincinnati clawed their way back from down 23-10 against Indianapolis for a 34-23 win.

First place in the AFC North (for now) is on the line when these two teams meet tonight. It should be a heated battle as the Ravens haven’t forgiven the Bengals for ending their 2017 season with a Tyler Boyd touchdown catch from Andy Dalton. Now, these teams are battling it out in primetime, both coming in 1-0.

Let’s take a look at how the experts view these AFC North rivals’ Thursday Night Football matchup in Week 2.

Odds

The Bengals are currently viewed as 1 point underdogs, according to Bovada. The line increased two points since Cincinnati opened up as three-point under dogs. This is a little bit strange. Usually if two even teams are playing, the home team gets a little bit of the advantage, so oddsmakers must have really liked the Ravens to give them an advantage to start, but that advantage has lessened. Also the Ravens recent history against the Bengals is terrible. Cincinnati has won seven of the last nine games against Baltimore. The Ravens also only have one win in Cincinnati during that span. Of course the Bengals’ well documented struggles during primetime could also contribute this.

Here are some trends for both teams:

• Cincinnati is 7-2 against the spread in its last nine games
• Cincinnati is 4-2 against the spread in its last six games at home
• Cincinnati is 4-2 straight up in its last six games at home
• Cincinnati is 6-3 against the spread in its last nine games when playing Baltimore
• Cincinnati is 7-2 straight up in its last nine games when playing Baltimore
• Cincinnati is 9-4 against the spread in its last 13 games when playing at home against Baltimore
• Cincinnati is 5-1 straight up in its last six games when playing at home against Baltimore
• Baltimore is 4-2 against the spread in its last six games
• Baltimore is 6-2 straight up in its last eight games
• The total has gone over in nine of Baltimore’s last 13 games
• Baltimore is 4-1-1 against the spread in its last six games on the road
• Baltimore is 4-10 straight up in its last 14 games on the road
• The total has gone over in five of Baltimore’s last seven games on the road
• Baltimore is 3-6 against the spread in its last nine games when playing Cincinnati
• Baltimore is 2-7 straight up in its last nine games when playing Cincinnati
• Baltimore is 4-9 against the spread in its last 13 games when playing on the road against Cincinnati
• Baltimore is 1-5 straight up in its last six games when playing on the road against Cincinnati

Picks

• Fox Sports projects a 22.5-19 loss for the Bengals
• 4 of ESPN’s 10 pickers chose the Bengals.
• Only one of SB Nation’s seven experts picked the Bengals
• CBS Sports’ John Breech picked the Bengals by a score of 23-20
• 5 of CBS’s 8 pickers (including Breech) chose the Bengals
• NFL Pick Watch, which tracks all picks across the internet has 58% of experts going with the Ravens.

As of now the trend seems to be that people don’t believe in the Bengals. This is nothing new though. It would be a nice early season statement for Cincinnati to go out and get a win on ‘Thursday Night Football’ to gain some respect.