Bengals at Jaguars: Preview, prediction, odds and pick

The Jacksonville Jaguars will host the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday afternoon in Week 9. Here is a game preview, the betting odds and a final prediction.

Week 9 of the 2017 NFL season has arrived. One of the games going on between AFC opponents will feature the Cincinnati Bengals (3-4) and the Jacksonville Jaguars (4-3). Kickoff from EverBank Field in Jacksonville will be at 1:00 p.m. ET on Nov. 5. Andrew Catalon and James Lofton will be in the booth to call the game for CBS.

Cincinnati enters play at 3-4 on the season. Though the Bengals are still alive in the AFC playoff mix, they have to start winning games with greater regularity if they want to get back in them. The AFC North is not looking like a good division right now. Though the Bengals could make some noise in divisional play, they’ll need to win some other games outside of the division to punch their ticket in.

Jacksonville has played very well this year. The Jaguars are a surprising 4-3 on the season. They are playing outstanding defense with enough competency on offense to be considered a playoff team at the halfway point. Jacksonville is tied for the division lead with the rival Tennessee Titans, although Tennessee does have the tiebreaker over the Jaguars at this time.

Betting Odds

Point Spread: Jacksonville -4.5
Moneylines: Jacksonville -220, Cincinnati +195
Over/Under: 39.5

According to OddsShark, the Jaguars will be laying 4.5 points at home to the visiting Bengals. The associated moneylines for this game are Jacksonville -220 and Cincinnati +195. This game’s over/under comes in at a combined 39.5 points.

Jacksonville is coming off its bye heading into this game. Interestingly, the last team the Jaguars played was the same team that the Bengals last played in the struggling Indianapolis Colts. Jacksonville stomped their division rival up in Indianapolis in Week 7. Cincinnati was able to beat the Colts by a point at home in Week 8.

Though the Jaguars don’t have a great home field advantage, a well-rested team playing at home does seem to be in Jacksonville’s favor in this game. We know that the Jaguars will play great defense against the Bengals. The question is if they have enough firepower offensively to outdistance Cincinnati.

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Look for the Jaguars to pick off Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton twice, once for a pick-six. That will ultimately prove to be the difference in this otherwise tight ball game. The Jaguars win and cover the 4.5-point spread. Winning by a touchdown gets this game over 39.5 points.

Prediction: Jaguars 24, Bengals 17