NFL Odds: No Better Time Than Now For Bengals To Finally Break Through
This is a team that isn't afraid of anyone
Tune in to the "Ultimate Betting Show" on NESN or NESN360 on Thursday at 5:30 p.m. ET for NFL training camp previews. Next up: the Cincinnati Bengals.
If the Cincinnati Bengals played in the NFC, they would probably be the favorites to win the conference and might even be looked at as the No. 1 Super Bowl contender.
The Bengals, of course, play in the AFC. While it wouldn't shock anyone to see Cincinnati return to the Super Bowl, it doesn't enter the season leading the pack in the conference. Instead, it's just part of the pack -- a very talented pack with sky-high expectations, though.
As long as Joe Burrow is healthy, the Bengals should contend, although a training camp injury scare served as a reminder of just how much rides on the LSU product. His calf issue shouldn't be a long-term thing, meaning Burrow should enter the season ready to roll as part of a talented collection of players on both sides of the ball in Zac Taylor's system whose results speak for themselves.
A deep postseason run is possible, but it won't be easy in an improved AFC North and very challenging conference.
2022 in review
12-4 (list in the AFC Championship Game)
13-6 against the spread
7-11-1 over/under
Key offseason additions
OT Orlando Brown
S Nick Scott
TE Irv Smith Jr.
Key offseason losses
TE Hayden Hurst
S Jessie Bates
S Vonn Bell
CB Eli Apple
RB Samaje Perine
Look ahead to 2023 (via FanDuel Sportsbook)
Super Bowl: +1000
Conference: +550
Division: +150
Win total: 11.5 (under -144)
To make playoffs: Yes -290 | No +225
2023 award contenders
MVP: Joe Burrow +700
Offensive Player of the Year: Ja'Marr Chase +1100
Coach of the Year: Zac Taylor +3000
Defensive Rookie of the Year: Myles Murphy +3300
2023 outlook
The odds on paper do a lot to tell the potential story of the 2023 Bengals. There probably aren't a ton of teams whose odds to win the division (+150) are that close to their odds to win the conference (+550). Only Kansas City and Buffalo have shorter odds to win the AFC. But the fact that the Bengals are still plus-money to win the North speaks to the improvement in the division, especially with Baltimore and Pittsburgh.
Would the Bengals rather win the division? Of course. Do they need to do so in order to reach the Super Bowl? Burrow and company going into Kansas City and beating the Chiefs in the AFC Championship Game two years ago would suggest no. As would the fact they took KC to the wire at Arrowhead in a rematch last season (after beating Buffalo on the road, too).
Cincinnati has Burrow, who is behind only Patrick Mahomes in MVP odds and Chase, the favorite to win Offensive Player of the Year. As long as those two are on the field together for the bulk of the season, the Bengals will be competitive. They really might need those two to power a high-octane offense, especially if the departures of Jessie Bates and Vonn Bell really do hurt in the secondary. Or if an interior defense led by DJ Reader and Germaine Pratt doesn't do the job and teams run like wild on the Bengals as they did a few seasons ago.
But this is largely a team that is built with one thing in mind, and that's to win the Super Bowl. Anything less is a disappointment.
