Cincinnati Bengals open as slight underdogs for Week 15 vs. Denver Broncos

The Cincinnati Bengals lost a brutal home game on Sunday against the San Francisco 49ers. The Niners came in at just 6-6.

With the Bengals at 7-5, both teams were desperate for a win to help increase their playoff chances. The Bengals were down 17-6 at half. For the second straight game they were down, at home, double figures, in the first half.

After kicking a field goal following an overtime field goal, the 49ers offense marched down the field and scored the game-winning touchdown. The Niners won by 3 and covered as 2.5-point favorites. The 48.5-point over also hit.

The Bengals are now 6-7 against the spread this season and are 6-7 on the over/under. Per DraftKings, the Bengals have opened as 1.5-point underdogs for their Week 15 trip to Denver.

The Broncos are coming off a huge win over the Lions. They won 38-10. The Bengals had a similar thrashing of the league’s worst team several weeks ago.

That said, in order to keep their AFC North title hopes alive, they’ll need a big win in this one. With a clearly more potent offense, the Bengals need to come out firing as they’ve clearly struggled to get out of the gate quickly.

Cincinnati has Baltimore and Kansas City following this matchup with the Broncos, so things certainly won’t be getting any easier. The Bengals end their season on the road against the Browns.

They’ll have to earn that playoff spot. One of the three Wild Card spots and the AFC North-winning spot is still up for grabs, but the Bengals will need to win at least two of their last four to have a good chance to claim either.