NFL Sunday Night Football Betting
The Week 6 Sunday Night Football matchup between the Cincinnati Bengals and New York Giants looked better at the beginning of the season when Cincy was viewed as a Super Bowl contender. Following last week’s overtime loss to division rival Baltimore, the Bengals have a share of the worst record in the NFL at 1-4. You can’t blame Joe Burrow and the offense since scoring 30 points should win football games. The Bengals surpassed that mark in each of the last three games with Burrow tossing 10 touchdown passes in that span and the club cashing the OVER in its last four games.
The Giants avoided a similar start upsetting Seattle, 29-20, on Sunday as a 7-point road dog improving to 2-3. With assistance from their special teams the Giants had a season-high point total and cashed the OVER for the first time. It was also the most points scored in a game since Week 11 of last season. With an efficient performance and getting a victory, critics of New York QB Daniel Jones went silent. However, putting together several good games in a row has been difficult for the former first round draft pick. And the Giants are underdogs again catching 3.5-points on the early NFL betting line.
NFL Week 6 Sunday Night Football Betting Odds
Cincinnati Bengals -3
New York Giants +3
Total: 49.5
Money Line: Bengals -171, Giants +148
Slow starts to a season are nothing new for the Bengals. Last season they dropped three of their first four games and finished with winning record. In 2022 they lost three of their first five games and rallied to go 12-4 and win the AFC North and eventually advance to the AFC Championship. On Sunday it looked like the Bengals would get their second win only to have it slip through their grasp. They had a 10-point lead over the Ravens midway through the fourth quarter only to have Baltimore tie the game in a span of less than four minutes aided by a Burrow interception.
Getting a turnover in OT set up the Bengals for the win, but that didn’t work out. A missed field goal gave the ball back to Baltimore and Justin Tucker ended the game with a successful three. Despite his costly pick Burrow had a strong game and was good enough to help get a win. He completed 30 of 39 for 392 yards and five TDs. In his last three games in which the Bengals are averaging 35.0 points, Burrow has completed 75 percent of his passes for 948 yards with 10 TDs.
As good as Burrow and the offense have been over the last three weeks, the defense has been a disaster. The group allowed 520 yards to the Ravens and has conceded an average of 417 yards and 34.3 points over the last three games. We wouldn’t put Daniel Jones in the same category as Lamar Jackson and Jayden Daniels, but he does have moves and could exploit a defense susceptible to dual threat. In Week 3, Daniels was 21 of 23 passing for 254 yards and two TDs with 39 yards and another score on the ground. Jackson was even better last week throwing for 348 yards and four TDs with an additional 55 rushing yards.
It seems like the Giants never get the kind of bounces they got late in their win over Seattle. There was some typical stuff going on early when the Seahawks returned a fumble 102 yards for a TD. The G-men overcame that early deficit, though, with a strong game from Jones and a late TD on a blocked game-tying FG attempt.
Without playmakers Malik Nabers and Devin Singletary the Giants still amassed 420 total yards with Jones throwing for 257 and two TDs and Tyrone Tracy rushing for 129 yards on 18 attempts. And the defense came up big holding Seattle to 3 of 11 on third downs and sacking Geno Smith seven times. Dexter Lawrence had three sacks doubling his season output.
Sunday Night Football Betting Schedule
In Week 2, the Houston Texans will host the Chicago Bears in a matchup of two of the emerging quarterback stars of the NFL. Last year, CJ Stroud, who was taken 2nd overall in the 2023 NFL Draft, led the Houston Texans to the AFC South Championship and a playoff win over the Cleveland Browns. Stroud shot down the adage about rookie NFL QBs not being able to deliver. Instead, Stroud threw for 4108 yards and a 23/5 TD/INT ratio. DeMeco Ryans had a spectacular debut as Houston’s coach, but now Ryans and Stroud face higher expectations, and the scrutiny of proving their success was not a fluke.
Of course, the Bears took Caleb Williams first overall in the 2024 NFL Draft. Williams does not have the supporting cast that Stroud had last year. Williams also arrives with what many believe to be a quirky personality that may not be best for leading an NFL locker room. The Bears gave up on Justin Fields, who they took in the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft, after just three seasons on a team with little support. Chicago remains a team that generates a lot of ambiguity and little in the way of optimism from gamblers.
One of the best Sunday night matchups in the early going is a Week 4 affair between the visiting Buffalo Bills and the Baltimore Ravens. Both teams won their respective divisions last year. The QB matchup of Josh Allen of the Bills and Lamar Jackson of the Ravens is one of the best possible. The Ravens and Bills could easily meet in the 2024 NFL Playoffs.
Week 8 is certain to bring ratings and scrutiny when the San Francisco 49ers host the Dallas Cowboys. Dallas head coach Mike McCarthy and QB Dak Prescott are under intense pressure to deliver a Super Bowl berth after flopping in the playoffs. Owner Jerry Jones, age 81, is eager to gain one last Lombardi Trophy but, as always, has a team that is never quite complete. The Dallas track record of falling short since the 1994 departure of head coach Jimmy Johnson offers no comfort or reason to believe that anything will ultimately change with America’s team.
Meanwhile, the San Francisco 49ers are the defending NFC champions and are coming off their second heartbreaking loss in five years to the Kansas City Chiefs in the Super Bowl. San Francisco is certainly the team to beat in the NFC West. General manager John Lynch and head coach Kyle Shanahan have proven to be a highly effective leadership tandem.
Access live betting lines and NFL Betting Lines from your mobile device at BookMaker Sportsbook! You can wager on sporting events as they unfold on television with BookMaker’s live betting platform.
