I guess we can officially call it a rebuilding year for the Philadelphia Eagles. The euphoria over their 3-0 start has subsided and reality has set in. While the Eagles actually have a bright future, what does that leave for the Cincinnati Bengals? One of the biggest disappointments of the season, the Bengals played as though they had cashed it in during a sleep walk with the Ravens last week. The teams will meet in a Week 13 battle of non-playoff teams.
Watch this regular season Week 13 matchup live on Sunday, December 4, 2016, at 1 p.m. ET at Paul Brown Stadium.
Odds Analysis
With the Eagles playing the Monday night game, the spread and total have yet to surface. But given that these teams are quite evenly matched, expect the Bengals to open as the favorite with the standard field goal for home field advantage. Cincinnati has lost its backers a lot of money by going 3-8 ATS this season and has failed to cover in its last four games.
Injury Report
Jordan Matthews – Philadelphia’s leading receiver exited Monday night’s game with an ankle injury and didn’t return. His loss left the Eagles thin at receiver and they couldn’t take advantage of a leaky Packers secondary.
A.J. Green – We expected the loss of Green to a hamstring injury would hamstring the Bengals offense and that’s exactly what happened in Baltimore. It didn’t help going against one of the top defenses in the league, but the Bengals looked lost with Green and Giovani Bernard. It was a stretch for Cincy to make the playoffs with Green. Without him, not a chance.
Matchup to Watch
A benchmark of the Bengals during their previous playoff runs was a solid offensive line that protected Andy Dalton and opened holes for an efficient run game. That protection hasn’t been there this season and it’s a reason why the Bengals are where they are. Teams change personnel every year. They add through the draft and free agency while players leave for greener pastures, health reasons or they simply age out. No team is ever the same. But entering this season the Bengals thought they had the ingredients for another postseason appearance.
We had a good idea this season was going to be different for the Bengals back in Week 1 when Dalton was sacked seven times by the Jets. And the hits have just kept coming. The game Sunday against the Ravens may have been their worst at protecting Dalton. Three second half sacks resulted in fumbles, the last one coming with the Bengals driving for a potential game-tying score. The turnover sealed yet another frustrating loss. Dalton has been under pressure all season getting sacked 32 times, the fourth-highest total in the league.
Free ATS Pick
It’s been a wasted season for the Bengals and while they haven’t been officially eliminated from playoff contention, it’s just a matter of time before their six-year playoff run ends. At least Marvin Lewis won’t have to answer questions about his team’s playoff failures this season. It’s sad to say but it really looked like the Bengals gave up in their loss to Baltimore. In a game with everything on the line they came out flat and just didn’t compete. Cincinnati is a team that’s built to win now and when they don’t, plenty of questions arise.
It’s a different story for the Eagles. With a change in direction on the roster and coaching staff, they were facing a rebuild and probably exceeded the expectations of many. Carson Wentz has proven to be a NFL-caliber quarterback, but with all his play-makers missing, the team struggled. It could be more of the same this week and the under will have to be considered for this game. Philly has a good nucleus but lacks depth and that’s a problem they’re facing right now. I like the Eagles defense to make a stand and preserve a low-scoring road win.
NFL Odds: Eagles 21, Bengals 18
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