Cincinnati Bengals favored against the New England Patriots

When you really think about it, the Cincinnati Bengals and New England Patriots are opposing forces in the same twisting tornado. New England has won a playoff game (and Super Bowl) in the past ten years; the Bengals have been postseason participants in three of the past four years, but no wins since 1990.

Tom Brady is a future Hall of Fame quarterback. Most fans would rather not have Andy Dalton in their long-term future. The Patriots traded for Corey Dillon from Cincinnati. Cincinnati signed BenJarvus Green-Ellis as a free agent.

If you didn't know any better, you'd think it was Chad Johnson in a Patriots uniform wearing No. 85 (still). Nope. That's rookie wide receiver Kenbrell Thompkins, who seems to mimic Johnson's mannerisms and routes with a roughly similar skill set early in the latter's career. Thompkins is a former receiver at the University of Cincinnati.

Heading into Sunday's game, the Cincinnati Bengals are favored, but not by much. Most have Cincinnati with a 1.5 advantage, but many are just giving this game a push. Cincinnati is 2-0 against the spread at home this year, 2-2 on the season, but 9-3-1 in the past 13 games.