Bengals News (12/29): Dominating against the spread

Bengals Name Logan Wilson as Team's 2022 Winner of Ed Block Courage Award
"Logan is the ultimate professional and displayed the level of perseverance and courage that makes him the ideal recipient of this award," said Bengals Director of Sports Medicine/Head Athletic Trainer Matt Summers. "He battled through a shoulder injury during the 2021 season, but was still very productive on the field and led the defense in tackles and interceptions. Logan had offseason shoulder surgery, he was resilient in his rehab and has been a very productive leader on and off the field this year."

Cincinnati Bengals and Wager Score Announce Responsible Sports Gaming Partnership
Wager Score®, a patented platform that provides sports bettors with safe, free affordability scores and personalized updates to protect user finances, today announced a partnership with the Cincinnati Bengals to promote responsible sports gaming practices. The partnership comes during a pivotal time in Ohio, as the state opens for legal sports betting on Jan. 1, 2023.

Quick Hits With Bengals Head Coach Zac Taylor Heading Into Monday Night Matchup vs. Bills
What's important is that you're playing your best ball at this point, and I feel like that's where we're heading. Certainly, sometimes there are going to be growing pains through the early part of the year as you sort out what kind of team you have, and what are your strengths and what are maybe some of your weaknesses. I feel like some of our losses early on helped us build the team that we are today.

Joe Burrow To Capture NFL's All-Time Leading Completion Percentage Mark Against Bills
That changes on Monday, where he could actually throw all 12 passes into the dirt and still own the record. Drew Brees (67.69%) is officially first all-time right now, but Burrow would still be at 67.93% with 12 opening misses.

Why Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals historic ATS run deserves more attention
The Bengals won (and covered) in Foxborough on Christmas Eve, and it appears they are simply the gift that keeps on giving. Including last postseason, Cincy has now covered in 20 of 23 games, a run that is about as dynastic as anything we've seen. The irony of Burrow covering in the house that Tom Brady built should not be lost. Brady had one of the best 23-game runs we've ever seen, guiding the Patriots to a 22-1 mark starting in Week 2 of the 2003 season extending through Week 4 of the following regular season. From an outright standpoint, that dwarfs the Bengals current record outright (17-6), but even that New England team failed to reach the level of dominance against the spread that this Cincinnati team is in the midst of:

Prices for Bengals-Bills skyrocket, most expensive home game in 2022
The game has significant playoff implications as the Bengals are trying to get the number-one seed in the AFC. To do so, they have to beat the Bills, who are in first place, and must hope the second-place Kansas City Chiefs (12-3) drop one of their final two games against the Broncos and Raiders.

Around the league

Derek Carr's potential landing spots in 2023: Raiders QB on his way out of Las Vegas after benching?
Even with Carr signing the extension, moving on from him -- either by trading him (he does have a no-trade clause) or straight up releasing him shortly after the Super Bowl -- wouldn't cripple the Raiders financially. Perhaps benching Carr right now allows Vegas to showcase his availability a bit early, giving teams the opportunity to discuss the three-time Pro Bowler as a trade option before the wave of offseason moving and shaking. If no quality offers materialize, the Raiders can just cut bait with a manageable dead-money hit.

Derrick Henry (hip) doubtful vs. Cowboys as eight Titans ruled out for Thursday night
With the Titans' season likely to come down to a Week 18 clash for the AFC South title against the Jacksonville Jaguars, Tennessee is sitting some key players and Henry is a prime candidate to join them.

Who'll win Super Bowl LVII? Ranking nine most likely NFL champions as 2022 regular season winds down
Christmas is in the rearview mirror, and I hope Santa treated you well. With New Year's fast approaching, the NFL playoffs are nearly upon us. So it's time to get down to brass tacks, time to explore the only question that really matters ...