Indianapolis Colts vs Cincinnati Bengals Prediction, 8/22/2024 NFL Picks, Best Bets & Odds Week 3 Preseason

Game: Indianapolis Colts at Cincinnati Bengals

Date: Thursday, August 22, 2024

Location: Paycor Stadium in Cincinnati, OH

TV: Prime Video

Odds/Point Spread: Bengals (+5.0)

Total/Over-Under: 35.5

The Indianapolis Colts (9-8 last season) are headed to Paycor Stadium on Thursday where they will try to beat the Cincinnati Bengals (9-8 last year). Indianapolis is 5.0-point favorites from Vegas oddsmakers. The total is 35.5.

The Indianapolis Colts ended the year with a 9-8 mark. When they last took the field, the Colts faced the Bengals and ended up losing by a score of 34-14. Gardner Minshew II finished 26/39 with 240 yards through the air and 1 touchdown. He had a quarterback rate of 81.1 and ended the contest with 1 interception. Michael Pittman Jr. averaged 11.9 yards per catch by notching 95 yards on 8 receptions. Zack Moss was the best rusher for the Colts with 13 attempts for 28 yards (2.2 yds per attempt). Once the final whistle blew, they had 60 plays for 272 yards. The Indianapolis Colts ended up rushing 18 times and accrued 46 yards, which came out to an average of 2.6 yds per carry. When it came to stopping the run, the Colts gave up 111 yds on 32 attempts, which averages out to 3.5 yards per run surrendered. Indianapolis relinquished 19 completions on 25 tries for 274 yds, and a completion rate of 76.0%.

When talking about getting in the endzone, the Indianapolis Colts were sitting at 23.3 points per outing. As a team they averaged 121.1 yards in the run game, ranking this team 10th in the league. The Colts racked up 5,725 total yards last year. Indianapolis accrued 178 1st downs as a team, and they were called for 95 infractions for 685 yards. They turned the ball over 22 different times (10 interceptions and 12 fumbles). Indianapolis totaled 18 touchdowns through the air and 19 touchdowns via the ground.

The Colts sat in 28th in the league concerning team defense, giving up 24.4 points per contest. They gave up 4.1 yards per running attempt and 123.8 yards on the ground per contest for the previous year. During the campaign, they gave up 2,105 rushing yards through 17 outings. When it comes to yards via the pass, the Colts gave up 3,842 yards which ranked them 16th in the league. During their 17 games played last season, they gave up 226.0 yards per outing through the air and relinquishing a completion percentage of 65.1%. They surrendered 349.8 yards per outing which had them sitting 24th in the NFL.

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The Bengals wrapped up their season having earned a 9-8 record. In their last game, the Bengals walked away with a victory by a final of 34-14 when they played the Colts. Joe Mixon carried the rock 21 times for 79 yds, ending the game with 3.8 yards per carry for Cincinnati. Chase Brown was the best receiver for the Bengals, snagging 3 balls for 80 yards (26.7 yds per catch). Jake Browning (2 TDs) finished the game with 275 yards on 18/24 through the air while his quarterback rate was 122.7. He tossed 1 interception and his average yards per pass attempt was 11.5 yards. Cincinnati relinquished 18 running attempts for 46 yards (2.6 yards per carry). The Bengals secondary allowed a completion percentage of 66.7%, surrendering 226 yards on 26 for 39 passing. The Bengals finished the contest with a total of 385 yards while running 57 plays (6.8 yds per play). Cincinnati ended up running for 3.5 yds per attempt, finishing with a total of 111 yards on 32 attempts.

When it comes to their scoring prowess, the Bengals had a ranking of 16th in the NFL holding an average of 21.5 points per contest. Last year, the Bengals threw for a total of 3,895 yards through the air in addition to averaging 229.1 passing yards per contest, ranking them 15th in the league. They averaged 89.8 yards per game on the ground and ran for 1,527 yards for the season. The Cincinnati Bengals held an average of 318.9 yards/game which was good for 22nd out of all teams in the league. The Cincinnati offense compiled 614 penalty yards on 76 infractions, which was good for 31st in the NFL in terms of helping out the other team. They threw 14 interceptions while losing 2 fumbles and they obtained 208 1st downs.

The Bengals relinquished 22.6 points per game, which had them in 21st of all teams in the NFL. They conceded 23 touchdowns through the air as well as 248.4 yards per game, which had them ranked 28th in the league. Cincinnati gave up a total of 2,145 rushing yards (126.2 yards per contest) and 17 touchdowns by way of the ground game over the course of last year. The Bengals defense took part in 1,055 plays, which ranked 10th in football. They compiled 26 takeaways (9 fumbles recovered and 17 picks) over the course of last season. In total, they allowed 384 points in total.

Who will win tonight's Colts/Bengals NFL game against the spread?

Guy's Pick: Take the Bengals +5.0

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