The Cincinnati Bengals are 7-5 and currently hold the second Wild Card spot in the AFC. But NFL betting lines have them as 1.5-point underdogs at home against the San Francisco 49ers in Week 14.
The Bengals have one of the most challenging schedules of all playoff hopefuls. All five of their remaining games are against teams with playoff potential.
So if you are wondering how many points the Cincinnati Bengals can score in Week 14, keep reading for a closer look.
Last Week At Home
A 41-22 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers was a missed opportunity for a third straight win that could have put the Bengals in the lead in the AFC North.
The Bengals did themselves no favors letting the Chargers open up a 24-0 lead in the first half. The Bengals committed four turnovers in the game, including a Joe Mixon fumble for a touchdown in the second quarter and two interceptions by Joe Burrow.
Joe Mixon gained only 54 yards on 19 carries with one touchdown. However, Tee Higgins had one of the best games of his career with nine catches for 138 yards and 1 TD.
Cincinnati Bengals Offense
Joe Burrow is nursing a dislocated right pinky finger coming into Week 14’s game. That may make his job harder against San Francisco, who has the fourth-best passing defense (205.1 yards per game).
Burrow has several options in the passing game. Ja’Marr Chase averages 17.4 yards per catch and has 55 receptions for 958 yards. Tyler Boyd has another 51 catches for 556 yards. Tee Higgins averages 13.42 yards per catch and has 598 yards. He’s averaged 126 yards in the last two games and over 17 yards per catch.
Joe Mixon has 12 of the Bengals’ 15 rushing touchdowns, plus two TD receptions. He’s rushed 227 times for 978 yards. If Burrow’s finger is bothering him, I expect Mixon to have a heavy workload in this game.
Scoring Against The 49ers
While Cincinnati’s offense has weapons, there are some problems that have stopped them from winning more games. Joe Burrow has committed a turnover in eight straight games and leads the NFL in interceptions with 14. He is also the second-most sacked quarterback in the NFL (36).
With the 18th-ranked rush defense, San Francisco will give up yards to Joe Mixon if the Bengals commit to the run. However, down close, Cincinnati can use their 3rd-ranked red zone accuracy to score if they look to all targets.
Of course, a lot depends on Joe Burrow’s throwing hand and his ability to reduce turnovers. A bigger problem might be the 49ers’ 4th-ranked pass defense. As a result, I expect points to come hard for Cincinnati in Week 14.
49ers vs. Bengals (+1.5)
If the Cincinnati Bengals hope to win this Week 14 matchup, I believe it will be on the ground. First, Joe Mixon will need to keep running and stay healthy. This year, the Bengals are 5-0 when Mixon has 90 yards or more rushing.
Yet, I still think Joe Burrow’s interceptions issues and injury benefit the 49ers. Therefore, I’m taking San Francisco to win by at least a touchdown.
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