Preseason picks up the pace with the second round of fixtures this week and Chicago Bears travel to Paycor Stadium to face Cincinnati Bengals on Saturday.
Both sides go into their encounter on the back of wins, with the Bears getting stuck into the Cleveland Browns for a 34-10 victory, while the Bengals managed to edge out the Detroit Lions 16-14.
Stars from both the Bengals and the Bears are unlikely to see too much game time at this stage of preseason, with both coaches Zac Taylor and Ben Johnson suggesting their squad depth will be tested this weekend.
Bears vs. Bengals Betting Picks & Predictions
Bears -1.5 spread (-115)
Having had a joint training camp this week, the Bears and Bengals will have had a good look at each other in the build-up to this weekend’s preseason clash, giving both coaching staffs plenty of insight into what to expect from their opponents.
The Bears are fancied to edge this one at Paycor Stadium, largely due to how well they have previously performed under head coach Johnson during preseason and the depth Chicago also possesses at the quarterback position.
While star QB Caleb Williams is unlikely to see much action this weekend ahead of the new NFL campaign, Tyson Bagent and Case Keenum should get valuable time out on the field as they continue their preparations for the new season.
Bagent completed 13 of his 22 pass attempts against the Browns, while veteran Case Keenum was even more efficient, completing nine of his 10 passes for an impressive 151 yards.
While Bagent threw one touchdown pass, Keenum bagged two against Cleveland, and the pair demonstrated that Chicago has plenty of quality behind its starting quarterback.
Between them, the Bears QBs should be capable of putting points on the board against the Bengals.
An experienced playmaker like Keenum can come up with big plays in the latter stages of this preseason encounter, particularly when both teams turn to their deeper reserves.
With that in mind, the Bears are fancied to cover the spread at Paycor Stadium.
Over 36.5 total points (-115)
While both teams will have seen plenty of each other in training this week, there is reason to suggest these offenses can put up the points needed to cover the 36.5 total-point mark.
The Bengals looked to Josh Johnson at quarterback against the Lions and he is again likely to get plenty of action on Saturday, particularly with Cincinnati expected to limit the involvement of its regular starters.
Veteran QB Joe Flacco contributed the only touchdown pass for the Bengals in that game against Detroit, and the 41-year-old is again capable of testing this Bears defence if he is given another extended run.
Cincinnati managed to put 16 points on the board against Detroit, while Chicago's offense impressed considerably more in its opening preseason outing against the Browns, racking up 34 points.
Bagent and Keenum are both capable of moving the ball efficiently and creating scoring opportunities against Cincinnati's second and third-string defenders.
With both coaching staffs likely to give plenty of opportunities to their reserve players, the game could open up as the contest progresses.
All considered, both offenses have enough firepower to post reasonable scores, and going for over 36.5 total points gets the green light here.
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Bears vs. Bengals odds
Chicago Bears | -132 |
Cincinnati Bengals | +100 |
Spread | CHI Bears -1.5 |
Total Points | O/U 36.5 |
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This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.
