The NFL returns for week six of the regular season and the big Sunday night game will feature two teams while are underperforming as the Cincinnati Bengals travel to take on the New York Giants.
The Bengals have so far gone 1-4 this season in some hugely entertaining fixtures, while the Giants are 2-3 after their first five games and finally look to be turning things around.
We’ll take a look at the game and provide you with our best free NFL betting picks to try and earn you some extra cash while you enjoy the action on the field.
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Pre-season is usually taken with a pinch of salt by fans as it is a time to gain fitness and sharpness, but their Bengals fans had every right to be worried when they lost all three games against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Chicago Bears and Indianapolis Colts.
That was only exacerbated in the opening game of the regular season at home against the New England Patriots. Both teams were scoreless in the opening quarter before the Bengals threw away ten points, and never found themselves able to recover as they fell to a 16-10 loss.
Then were then beaten again in week 2 when they came up against the reigning champions Kansas City Chiefs. However, the performance was much better as they had the lead heading into the final quarter, before they fell to a 26-25 defeat late on.
Yet another defeat followed in week 3 against the Washington Commanders in a hugely entertaining affair, as they were beaten 38-33. It was the first game since records began where neither team recorded a punt or a turnover, showing the quality in both teams.
Cincinnati finally got their first win of the season in week 4 as they beat the Carolina Panthers comfortably 34-24, with Joe Burrow having an excellent individual performance. They fell to defeat once again last time out though against the Baltimore Ravens, losing 41-38 in overtime as the defense failed to stop Lamar Jackson putting on a show.
Similarly to Cincinnati, New York’s pre-season wasn’t the best as they claimed just one win from their three games before the regular season began. They then fell to an opening day defeat to the Minnesota Vikings in embarrassing fashion, getting thrashed 28-6.
Week 2 wasn’t much better for them against Washington as they suffered yet another defeat, losing 21-18 despite having the lead at half-time. In week 3 they claimed their first win against the Cleveland Browns thanks to a dominant first-half which saw them score all of their 21 points, while they restricted their opponents to just 15 over the course of the game.
In week 4 the team fell back into bad habits and were beaten again as the Dallas Cowboys put in a steady performance and held strong defensively to claim a 20-15 win. Last time out however, they corrected those issues and turned in their best performance of the season to beat the Seattle Seahawks 29-20 despite failing to score in the opening quarter of the game.
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— New York Giants (@Giants) October 9, 2024
The Bengals defense is simply unreliable this season when it comes to stopping the opposition, but thankfully Joe Burrow has started really well and the team are scoring a boat load of points too.
The plan of just simply outscoring the opposition almost worked last weekend against the Ravens barring a missed field goal in overtime, so against weaker opposition they should feel confident of getting a result too.
Zac Taylor’s team should have more wiggle room against the Giants, who don’t have the offensive firepower as Baltimore. Although Jones has played solid football lately, New York is only averaging 17.8 points per game and the fact the Giants have only scored touchdowns on 43.75% of their drives inside the 20 spells out a bigger issue.
Given the Bengals’ defensive issues, it’s hard to feel comfortable backing them to win by a big margin. But the spread of winning by more than a field goal suits them, and the odds are good for it too.
Jones hasn’t won a home game since New Year’s Day 2022 either and it’s fair to say Cincinnati are better than their record suggests. They should get the job done, and by a decent margin too.
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The Bengals are the perfect example of a team you want to target when betting Overs, as they have an elite offense that scores points in bunches and a defense that can’t cope and gives up points for fun.
The Giants’ secondary is in for a long day against Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins. However, Jones should be able to move the ball against this Bengals defense, and with star rookie WR Malik Nabers expected to return that should help too.
Cincinnati have been in some really fun, high-scoring games this season and this should be another one. Take the over.
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About the Author
Daniel is a football writer who has a great thirst for the Premier League and other major European leagues. A lover of the beautiful game and a firm believer that the eye test is better than statistics. Also an avid MMA fan.
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