Divisional Round Odds, Trends, Breakdown & Bet Pick: Bengals-Titans

The NFL divisional round kicks off on Saturday afternoon when Joe Burrow and the Bengals head to Nashville to take on Ryan Tannehill and the Titans.

The Bengals advanced to the second round of the AFC after a thrilling 26-19 win over the Raiders last Saturday. Cincinnati, after winning the AFC North, posted an 11-7 outright (SU) record, which also generated a solid profit for sports investors with an identical 11-7 against spread (ATS) record. The Bengals, who covered the 6-point line at home in their first playoff victory in 31 years against Las Vegas, have now won four of their last five games.

The Titans, who won the AFC South with a 12-5 record, were also profitable for bettors to root for with an accompanying 10-7 ATS mark. The Titans, who are 7-2 SU and 6-3 ATS at home, have been dominant of late at Nissan Stadium, winning seven of their last eight.

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One question punters will be forced to answer is twofold: How healthy is Derrick Henry’s foot, and how much of an impact can it have on his first action since Halloween? The star running back hasn’t played since suffering the injury against Indianapolis in Week 8.

Plus, the Bengals have struggled this season protecting Burrow (who was sacked a league-high 51 times in the regular season). Cincinnati, which allowed just two sacks in the win over the Raiders, will now face a fierce Titans quarterback race led by Harold Landry, Denico Autry and Jeffery Simmons, who combined for 29.5 sacks in the regular season.

Editor’s Note: Fees are subject to change

The line has gone up since Tennessee (12-5 SU; 10-7 ATS) opener as local favorites by 3 points over Cincinnati (11-7 SU; 11-7 ATS) to demand 3.5 points in Sports betting YES. The total that opened at 47 has remained unchanged in the first bets.

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Burrow pilots an explosive offensive attack that ranked seventh in scoring (27.1) in the regular season and nearly hit his season average when he scored 26 points in his wild-card win. Burrow, who finished eighth among all quarterbacks with 34 touchdowns, threw for 244 yards and two touchdowns in his first career playoff start.

The second-year signal caller has now thrown for 1,221 yards and 10 touchdowns in his last three games overall. Cincinnati possesses a host of offensive weapons in wide receivers Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins and Tyler Boyd, as well as Joe Mixon. In the club’s win over the Raiders, veteran tight end CJ Uzomah added valuable production, finishing as the club’s second-leading receiver in receptions (6) and yards (64), as well as adding a touchdown.

Chase, who broke Minnesota’s rookie Justin Jefferson’s receiving yards record with a new benchmark of 1,455 yards, was the club’s best player on the field against Las Vegas. The dynamic wide receiver, who finished third among all wide receivers with 13 receiving touchdowns in the regular season, led the team in receptions (9) and receiving yards (116) in his first career playoff game.

On the other side of the formation, Higgins, who is battling a foot injury, struggled to make an impact dragging just one of four targets for 10 yards. The former Clemson standout, who was terrific down the stretch of the regular season averaging 6.2 receptions and 107.5 receiving yards in the club’s last six games, will need to contribute if the Bengals have any hope of beating the Titans.

Joe Mixon, who finished third in the NFL in rushing yards (1,205) and fourth in rushing touchdowns (13) in the regular season, had just 76 total producing yards in the wild-card win over Las Vegas. The fifth-year running back could struggle on the ground against Tennessee’s lauded rushing defense, which ranked second in the NFL and allowed only 84.6 rushing yards per game. Jacksonville’s James Robinson (149) was the only opposing rusher to top 100 rushing yards against the Titans all season. Following a deeper dive, no opposing running back topped 47 rushing yards in Tennessee’s final eight regular-season games.

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On the other side of the ball, Ryan Tannehill has excelled in the team’s last three games, sporting a 7:0 touchdown-to-interception ratio. The veteran has shown excellent leadership in guiding the club to a 6-3 SU mark since the loss of Henry in Week 8. Tannehill, who is 2-2 in his career in the playoffs, will be looking for his first victory in the playoffs at home before the Titans faithful on Saturday.

In the passing game, Tennessee has a solid tandem in wide receivers AJ Brown and Julio Jones. Despite missing four games due to injury, Brown still led the club in receptions (63), receiving yards (863), and receiving touchdowns (5). Since returning in Week 16, the powerhouse receiver has averaged 5.7 receptions and 84.7 receiving yards while adding two touchdowns in the club’s last three regular-season games.

Jones, who has battled multiple injuries, only played in 10 regular-season games. The Titans are hoping Jones can carry the momentum of scoring his only touchdown of the season in Week 18 into the postseason. Tennessee will need both Brown and Jones to exploit a 26th-ranked Cincinnati pass defense that is allowing 248.4 passing yards this season.

On the field, Tennessee is expected to get Henry back and that will have a huge impact on the Titans’ offense. In his nine-game absence, the Titans opted for a committee approach, using D’Onta Foreman, Dontrell Hillard and Jeremy McNichols. Foreman, who has three rushing touchdowns in the club’s last five games, will likely spell Henry on points in his first game action since October.

Cincinnati, which had previously lost eight straight playoff games, finally snapped a playoff drought dating back to 1991 with last week’s victory over the Raiders. However, this will be the end of the line for the Bengals. In addition to going 5-1 against AFC South rivals, the Titans have beaten San Francisco, Kansas City, Buffalo and the Rams this season. Do you notice anything in common between those teams? All of them are among the last eight teams that will play in the Divisional Round this weekend. Battle trials, impressive victories, home field and the return of the best running back in the NFL. Place the points.

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BET: Tennessee -3 (Buy half a point)

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Wild card weekend didn’t start off on the right foot, as the Raiders (+6) came within a few yards of beating the Bengals and the Cowboys (-3) just couldn’t get past tying the NFL record for most penalties (14) in a playoff game against the 49ers. The two total plays went 0-1-1 as Buffalo simply crushed my underbet (44) – playing a “flawless” offensive game against New England, while a late two-point conversion by Philly took my underbet (46). ) from a win to a push. My weekend closed out strong as Kansas City (-12.5) dominated as my block of the weekend and the Rams (-4) came in solid, beating the Cardinals.

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Eddie Corp

Eddie is an Australian news reporter with over 9 years in the industry and has published on Forbes and tech crunch.

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