Jacksonville Jaguars at Cincinnati Betting Analysis, Lines & Odds

Week 4 of the NFL schedule will kick off from Cincinnati, Ohio, as the Cincinnati Bengals will host the Jacksonville Jaguars on Thursday night.

Urban Meyer’s Jaguars are winless on the season, and things haven’t gotten off to a good start for the first-year head coach. Cincinnati comes into this one with a 2-1 record, with a favorable matchup. Let’s take a closer look at the upcoming match between the Jaguars and the Bengals so you can bet against their NFL odds.

NFL Betting Preview for Jaguars vs Bengals

Cincinnati Bengals Analysis

2020 first overall pick Joe Burrow has led the Bengals to a winning record early in the season. With Joe Mixon, rookie sensation Ja’Marr Chase, Tyler Boyd, and Tee Higgins at his disposal, the Bengals offense has had a nice start to the season.

Burrow has thrown for nearly 650 yards with seven touchdowns. He has looked erratic at times, but for a second-year quarterback in the NFL, he looks like he will have a very successful career.

The key to the Bengals’ start has been the improvement of their defense. Cincinnati is allowing 317 yards per game while limiting their opponents to an average of 18 points per contest. With a top-10 defense and wins over two playoff-caliber teams, things are looking up for the Cincinnati Bengals.

Jacksonville Jaguars Analysis

When Meyer was hired and Trevor Lawrence was drafted, many felt that the Jaguars would rise quickly up the standings. That hasn’t been the case this season, as the Jags are still winless heading into Week 4.

With a poor offensive line, a lack of a running game, and some very poor decision-making by Lawrence, the Jacksonville offense has had some issues. Until they get some of the issues fixed and Lawrence gets a better grasp of the offense, it’ll be a long season for Meyer’s Jacksonville squad.

Defensively, things haven’t been much better. Jacksonville is giving up over 400 yards per game, and their opponents are scoring over 30 points per game. At this rate, it’s going to be hard for Jacksonville to win any games.

Prediction

The Bengals are a home favorite this week, as the oddsmakers have made them a 7.5-point favorite. This is a tough number. Even though Jacksonville is 27th in the league in scoring and 28th in defense, we’re still not really confident in the Bengals.

However, Cincinnati is 6-2 against the spread in their last eight games. The Bengals are also 5-2 against the spread in their last seven games at Paul Brown Stadium.

More good news for the Bengals, they’re 4-1 against the spread in their last five appearances on Thursday night.

So, this is a game that we would normally leave alone, but we’re going to go ahead and make a prediction anyway. Jacksonville has been bad early in the season, and the Bengals look like they could sneak into the playoffs.

The Bengals are 7-4 against the spread in their last 11 games that they’ve been favored by five or more points. We’ll go out on a limb and go with the Bengals in this one. With Burrow playing well and the poor state of the Jacksonville defense, we like the Bengals to win this one 30-21.

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