Bengals open as favorites vs. Browns in Week 9

The Bengals lost as 10.5-point favorites against the Jets. The Browns also lost in Week 9.

The Cincinnati Bengals found themselves as the upset of the week.

It’s somewhat a compliment as teams in the past wouldn’t be on the upset alert radar. That doesn’t make losing to the New York Jets any easier. What’s even more concerning is that the Bengals defense gave up over 400 yards to Mike White. Ever heard of him?

I’m sure the casual NFL fan hasn’t, but the Bengals know are well aware of who he is. White and the Jets run game, which entered as the least productive in the NFL, dismantled the Bengals.

The Jets won 34-31. The Bengals, who closed as 10.5-point favorites, will now welcome Cleveland for their Week 9 matchup. Cincinnati has opened as 2.5-point favorites per DraftKings.

The Browns looked awful as well in Week 9.

They lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers, a team the Bengals went on the road and defeated earlier this season. The more concerning part of their loss to Pittsburgh was the fact that their offense put up just 10 points.

With RB Kareem Hunt still sidelined, the Browns had to use star back Nick Chubb more than usual. He went for just 61 yards on a stiff Steelers defense. Baker Mayfield threw for 225 yards and no touchdowns.

That’s the type of defensive performance that the Bengals were expected to have on Sunday. Now, to avoid dropping two straight, they’ll need to head to Cleveland and prove their strength.

Both the Bengals and Browns failed to cover their spread. With home-field advantage usually worth around three points on the spread, the Bengals and Browns are seemingly considered about equal in the eyes of oddsmakers.

After this week, despite their blowout of the Ravens, no one can quite blame the sportsbooks. I would say that the 2.5 seems like a good number for Cincinnati in what will hopefully be a bounce-back Week 9.