In the second game of the Monday Night Football doubleheader, the Bengals host the Commanders. Here is how to bet on the game at DraftKings Sportsbook.
Commanders (+7) at Bengals o/u 47
Commanders Team Breakdown
Jayden Daniels picked up his first NFL win last week against the Giants. However, the win came in fortunate circumstances for the Commanders as the Giants were left with no field goal kicker due to injury when they had a chance to win the game. That allowed the Commanders to kick a game-winning field goal instead. That being said, Daniels has comfortably been the best rookie quarterback so far this season. He actually has been a top-10 quarterback in the NFL this season by EPA+CPOE composite.
The Commanders’ defense has been less convincing, as they were dominated by the Bucs in Week 1. They gave up 289 yards and four touchdowns through the air to QB Baker Mayfield and couldn’t cover anybody on the outside. The Giants don’t have the same passing threat as Tampa Bay, but rookie WR Malik Nabers went for 10 catches and 127 yards against the Commanders’ secondary despite being their primary defensive focus.
Bengals Team Breakdown
The Bengals are incredibly unlucky to be sitting at 0-2. They had a couple of pivotal mistakes that gave the game away to the Patriots in Week 1 and had a questionable pass interference call last week that allowed the Chiefs to kick a game-winning field goal. This is a desperate spot for the Bengals if they want to make the playoffs this season, so they should put forward an A+ effort against the Commanders.
The biggest news of the week for the Bengals is that WR Tee Higgins will be playing for the first time this season. Ja’Marr Chase is considered the No. 1 wide receiver for the Bengals, but Higgins is the X-factor in the offense. Higgins provides a threat on third downs and in the red zone that Chase doesn’t and he takes a good amount of defensive attention away so Chase has more room to operate. The passing attack should look more dangerous with Higgins back on the field.
Pick and Prediction
Jayden Daniels is making his first primetime start in this game and has to do it on the road against a very well-coached defense. Bengals DC Lou Anarumo schemed really effectively against Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes last week and should be able to take away what Daniels wants to do in this game, which is to use his legs to extend plays. The Commanders’ offense could face their toughest test of the season so far in this spot.
The Commanders’ defense was punished by Baker Mayfield in Week 1 and Bengals QB Joe Burrow should be able to do that as well with Tee Higgins back in action. The Washington secondary has a lot of holes that should be picked apart by a Bengals offense that is in desperate need of a big performance. Burrow is always good in a bounce-back spot, with the Bengals 15-6-1 (71.4%) ATS after a SU loss with Burrow as the starter. This is a must-win for the Bengals and they should be able to win with margin on Monday Night Football.
Best Bet: Bengals -7
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