Buyin’ Burrow’s Bengals as big ’dogs in Baltimore
Dave Tuley, senior reporter at VSiN.com, is in his fourth season with The Post’s Bettor’s Guide. His handicapping pieces appear in VSiN’s online magazine, Point Spread Weekly.
Bengals (+6.5) over RAVENS: Who had this Week 7 game circled as a battle for first place in the AFC North? The advance line for this game was Ravens -6.5, and it has stayed pretty solid, though a few books have gone to Ravens -7 before getting bet back down. But I feel it’s set a little high based on the reputation of these two teams, and should be closer to a field goal. The Ravens are certainly flashier with Lamar Jackson’s high-flying act, but Joe Burrow is having just as good of a season and should be able to spread the ball around to his weapons in RB Joe Mixon and WR Ja’Marr Chase, among others. This might be early to be calling for a new favorite in the AFC North, but I give the Bengals a great chance to pull the outright upset. However, I’ll still gladly take as many points as they’re willing to give us.
Bears (+12.5) over BUCCANEERS: The advance line was Buccaneers -10 before they beat the Eagles on Oct. 14, though I’d also like to point out they didn’t cover as 7-point road favorites and are just 2-4 ATS on the season. The Bears didn’t cover in their 24-14 home loss to the Packers, but they were competitive. Yet, despite all that, this line has risen from 10 to nearly two touchdowns. Justin Fields and the Bears’ offense probably don’t have enough to pull off the upset, but they’re certainly good enough to stay within two scores. They also have a defense that held the Packers to 24 points and is allowing just 20.7 points per game overall.
LAST WEEK: 2-0, Raiders (W), Seahawks (W).
SEASON: 9-3.