Cincinnati at Detroit Preseason Week 2 Odds & Expert Pick

The Detroit Lions won their preseason opener while the Cincinnati Bengals lost theirs. The two teams face off Thursday night in Motown with the Lions as slight favorites on NFL betting odds. Detroit and Cincinnati have met 36 times in the preseason, with both teams sharing an 18-18- 0 record. The Lions and Bengals last played in the preseason in 2011, with Detroit winning 34-3.

Taking a Closer Look at the Cincinnati at Detroit Preseason Week 2 Odds, Expert Pick & TV Info

Here’s a look at the #Bengals roster heading into Thursday night’s game #LetsRoar : https://t.co/Oy6PFpgRvk pic.twitter.com/S8Cj1IP5kb

— Cincinnati Bengals (@Bengals) August 15, 2016

When: Thursday, Aug. 18, 7 PM ET Where: Ford Field, Detroit TV: Check local listings Stream: NFL.com Radio: Cincinnati / Detroit Opening NFL Lines: Lions -2.5 (40)

Why Bet on Cincinnati?

The Bengals lost at home to Minnesota 17-16 last Friday. Andy Dalton was sharp in his return, leading the Bengals into field-goal range on his only drive. He of course was hurt late last season against Pittsburgh and missed the final few weeks and the team’s playoff loss to Pittsburgh. Against the Vikes, Dalton completed his first four passes for 32 yards. He threw too high for A.J. Green on a third-down play, and Mike Nugent was wide right on a 48-yard field-goal attempt that ended the drive and Dalton’s day. Cincinnati’s starting defense was in for only one series that lasted three plays. The Bengals unveiled their prized second-year tackles in the game, deploying first-rounder Cedric Ogbuehi and second-rounder Jake Fisher for the first time together in a starting role. Both took the most snaps of anyone on offense with 39. Ogbuehi, the starting right tackle, looked like he didn’t give up much pressure in pass protection and Fisher, playing for left tackle Andrew Whitworth, gave up some but both kept Dalton and A.J. McCarron clean. The Bengals did get some bad news on Monday with rookie defensive tackle Andrew Billings having knee surgery. He might be done for the year. Billings, a fourth-round pick from Baylor, was hurt during a routine pass-blocking drill in the middle of last Wednesday’s joint practice with the Vikings. From an injury standpoint this has been an incredibly rough preseason for the Bengals — their rookies especially. First-round pick William Jackson III, a cornerback, is already out for possibly the entire season due to a torn pectoral.

Why Bet on Detroit?

The Lions won in Pittsburgh 30-17 in their preseason opener. Dwayne Washington, the Lions’ seventh-round pick, gave Detroit the lead for good with a 96-yard kickoff return. Quarterback Jake Rudock, the Lions’ sixth-round pick, later led an 11-play, 74-yard scoring drive. Rudock, who finished 8 of 11 for 72 yards and a score, hit Jace Billingsley with a 27-yard touchdown on third-and- 9. Detroit’s Matthew Stafford went 4 of 6 for 58 yards in his only series. Lions tight end Eric Ebron, who suffered an undisclosed injury to his lower right leg last week, was in street clothes. Starting running back Ameer Abdullah and defensive tackle Haloti Ngata were also out. The Steelers blitzed early and often in Stafford’s one possession. They got pressure from the interior and off the edge. Stafford was hit twice and sacked once – by 38-year- old James Harrison, who beat rookie left tackle Taylor Decker to force a fumble that ended the Lions’ first possession. On the previous play, a holding penalty against Decker wiped out a third-down scramble by Stafford that would have given the Lions a first down at Pittsburgh’s 10. With Ebron’s injury, the Lions on Monday signed tight end Andrew Quarless, who is on probation for firing a gun in public in Miami Beach on July 4, 2015. He will have to serve a two-game suspension when the regular season begins but can play in the preseason. He had four catches for 31 yards in five games for the Green Bay Packers last season. In 2014, his last full season, he had 29 catches for 323 yards and three touchdowns. Quarless, who went to Penn State, was a fifth-round draft pick by Green Bay in 2010.

My Expert Pick

Go Detroit at home on NFL lines and the under.