Cincinnati Bengals vs. Tampa Bay Bucs, 10/28/18 Week 9 Predictions

Bengals vs. Bucs Spread Prediction

After they were waxed a week ago by the Chiefs in Kansas City, will the Bengals rebound with a win and a cover when they host the Tampa Bay Bucs at 1:00 p.m. ET on Sunday?

Game Snapshot

263 Tampa Bay Bucs at 264 Cincinnati Bengals

1:00 p.m. ET, Sunday, October 28

Paul Brown Stadium, Cincinnati, Ohio

Public Betting Trends

According to oddsmakers from online sports book BetNow.eu, the Bengals are 3.5-point favorites to beat the Bucs. The total, meanwhile, sits at 54.5 points. As of this writing, 66% of the public betting tickets are on the Bengals to cover the point spread.

Tampa Bay Bucs

Ronald Jones handled the "majority" of the first-team reps at Wednesday's practice. Peyton Barber didn't practice with an undisclosed injury. That left Jones and Shaun Wilson along with special-teamer and pass-pro specialist Jacquizz Rodgers. If Barber is unable to play Sunday, Jones would enter the RB3/FLEX mix, but the Bucs' way to move the ball is obviously through the air as one of the most pass-heavy teams in the league. It's a situation to monitor.

Cincinnati Bengals

Andy Dalton completed 15-of-29 passes for 148 yards with a touchdown and an interception in Week 7 against Kansas City. The Bengals got off to a sluggish start, but Dalton managed a first-quarter touchdown to C.J. Uzomah. He telegraphed a pick-six on the first drive of second half and couldn’t get anything going after that. It’s one of the worst starts of the season for Dalton, who’s had multiple TDs in 5-of-7 games. Dalton has a rebound matchup with the Bucs in Week 8.

NFL Betting Trends

Tampa Bay

The Bucs are 0-4 against the spread in their last four games overall and are 3-8-1 against the number in their last 12 road games.

Cincinnati

The Bengals are 5-2 against the spread in their last seven home games.

Prediction

The Browns didn’t do much against a bad Bucs defense for three quarters last week but they started to move the ball at will in the final 15 minutes. Granted, some of that had to do with special teams and Tampa Bay turning the ball over but the bottom line is, this Bucs defense has struggled. Andy Dalton also struggled a week ago in Kansas City but now that he’s back home and out of the spot light of primetime, I expect him to bounce back. Not sure why this line continues to drop but I’ll roll the dice with the home fave.

 

NFL Week 8 Predictions: Cincinnati Bengals -3.5