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Don’t look now, but here come the Cincinnati Bengals! After starting the season off 1-2 and looking sluggish offensively, the Bengals have come charging back with a 3-1 record and an offense scoring a lot of points. On Monday night, the Bengals will travel across the state to take on their AFC North Rivals, the Cleveland Browns.

At 2-5, the Browns aren’t where they want to be. Defensively, injuries have hurt them, and this defense hasn’t been what many thought it would be. Other than Nick Chubb, the offense hasn’t gotten much accomplished. It, too, has had some injury issues, but Jacoby Brissett just hasn’t been the answer. It may end up being too late, but the Browns hope that they’re still hanging around a shot at a playoff berth in Week 12 when Deshaun Watson can return.

Let’s take a brief look at each of the teams, and then we’ll give you our NFL Betting prediction for this Monday Night affair.

NFL Week 8 Betting Preview for Cincinnati Bengals at Cleveland | A Scary Matchup at the Dawg Pound on Halloween Night

Cincinnati Bengals

The Bengals received some crushing news earlier this week when it was announced that Ja’Marr Chase will miss at least a month of action due to a lingering leg injury. Chase and Joe Burrow had been very good together over the past few weeks. We’ll see if Tyler Boyd and Tee Higgins can step in and keep this offense rolling along.

Defensively, the Bengals have had a nice season. This unit isn’t being talked about much, but they’re one of the best in the AFC. They’re allowing an average of 22 points per game. We’ll see if they can slow down Chubb and force Brissett to beat them through the air.

Cleveland Browns

The Browns have lost four straight, and they look like the season could be lost soon. As we stated before, they’re hoping to stay afloat for the return of Watson, but at this pace, that doesn’t seem likely. Injuries have been a huge reason why the Browns have struggled. Numerous starters have missed multiple games due to injury.

The Browns defense has caught a break with Chase being out, but they will still have to contend with Boyd, Higgins, and Joe Mixon. We look for the Bengals to include more of Mixon in the passing game. Cleveland has struggled to stop the pass this season, so we should see Burrow and company try to exploit Cleveland’s weak secondary unit.

Prediction

This “scary” matchup will take place on Halloween in the “Dawg Pound” in Cleveland. The Cleveland fans will be fired up for a Monday Night Football game on Halloween night. Unfortunately for the Browns, they’re catching the Bengals at the wrong time. Cincinnati is favored by three points, and we think that they win this one by a touchdown.

The Bengals are 8-1 against the spread in their last nine road games, while the Browns are 1-4 against the spread the last five times they’ve played at home. We just don’t think that Brissett and company can keep up with the Bengals offense. Cincinnati wins 27-21.

I have read enough, I need to place my bet now. What to do?