The Cincinnati Bengals and Los Angeles Rams face off on Saturday in an NFL preseason showdown at Paul Brown Stadium. These two teams faced off in the Super Bowl and the Rams won 23-20.
The Rams aren’t expected to play many of the starters in this game which means we should see plenty of John Wolford and Bryce Perkins in this game. So far in the preseason, the Rams have knocked off the Los Angeles Chargers 29-22 and in the last game, they lost to the Houston Texans 24-20. In that game against the Texans Wolford completed 14 of his 22 passes for 142 yards. Perkins also made a strong case for why he should be on the team completing 11 of his 13 passes for 123 yards. Perkins is also a threat with his legs, but only ran for one yard in the last game. This game will be the first chance to get a look at fifth-round draft pick Kyren Williams who has been out because of injury. If the Rams want to win this game it’s going to come down to the quarterback play.
On the other side of this matchup is the Bengals who lost in the Super Bowl last year, but now have even higher expectations for this season. Joe Burrow hasn’t played yet in the preseason but he is expected to play in this game. Ja’Marr Chase is also expected to play in this game. If Burrow can have a big game, and give the Bengals a lead they should be in good shape to secure the victory. So far in the preseason, the Bengals have lost to the Arizona Cardinals 36-23 and in the last game against the New York Giants, he lost 25-22. In the last game, Brandon Allen completed 14 of his 20 passes for 105 yards.
The Rams are 1-4 against the spread in their last five games on fieldturf. The Bengals are 8-0 against the spread in their last eight games overall. The under is 6-0 in the last six meetings between the Bengals and Angels.
I expect the Bengals starting offense is going to find some success against the Rams backups, and that is going to be the difference in this game. The Rams might make a little comeback in the second half, but it won’t be enough. Back the Bengals against the spread.