New England Patriots vs Cincinnati Bengals Prediction, 9/8/2024 NFL Picks, Best Bets & Odds Week 1

Game: New England Patriots at Cincinnati Bengals

Date: Sunday, September 8, 2024

Location: Paycor Stadium in Cincinnati, OH

TV: CBS

Odds/Point Spread: Bengals (-9.5)

Total/Over-Under: 42

Paycor Stadium is the site where the Cincinnati Bengals (9-8 last season) will compete against the New England Patriots (4-13 last year) on Sunday. Cincinnati is 9.5-point favorites. The betting total comes in at 42.

The New England Patriots wrapped up their year holding a 4-13 record. The last time they stepped on the gridiron, the Patriots played against the Jets and walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 17-3. Bailey Zappe connected on 12/30 with 88 yds through the air. He had a QB rating of 20.1 and finished the contest with 2 picks. Jalen Reagor left with an average of 33.0 yards per reception by accumulating 33 yards on 1 reception. Ezekiel Elliott was the best rusher for the Patriots with 13 carries for 54 yards (4.2 yds per attempt). At the end of the game, they tallied 58 plays which gave them a total of 119 yards. The New England Patriots ended up rushing 21 times and totaled 88 yards, earning them an average of 4.2 yards per tote. On the ground, the Patriots conceded 185 yards on 42 tries, which averages out to 4.4 yds per rush surrendered. New England gave up 8 pass completions on 20 tries for a total of 69 yds, and a completion rate of 40.0%.

In terms of scoring, the New England Patriots held an average of 13.9 points per contest. As a team they averaged 95.7 yds via the ground game, which had them sitting 26th in the NFL. The Patriots earned 4,696 total yards over the course of last year. New England amassed 153 1st downs as a team, and they were called for 89 penalties for 676 yds. They surrendered the football 29 different times (21 picks and 8 fumbles lost). New England amassed 16 touchdowns through the air and 9 touchdowns on the ground.

Regarding yards via the pass, the Patriots gave up 3,543 yards which had them ranked 11th in the league. In their 17 games played last season, they gave up 208.4 yards per game via the pass in addition to surrendering a completion percentage of 64.3%. They allowed 301.6 yards per contest putting them at 7th in the league. They allowed teams to run for an average of 3.3 yards per running attempt and 93.2 rushing yards per game for the previous year. In total, they allowed 1,584 rushing yards through 17 games. The Patriots were ranked 15th in the NFL regarding team defense, allowing 21.5 points per game.

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The Bengals finished the season holding a 9-8 mark. In their last game, the Bengals took home the win by a final score of 31-14 against the Browns. Jake Browning (3 TDs) finished the game with 156 yards on 18/24 passing while his quarterback rate was 113.9. He threw 1 pick and his average yards per pass attempt was 6.5 yards. Joe Mixon ran the ball 14 times for 111 yards, finishing the contest with 7.9 yards per carry for Cincinnati. Charlie Jones had the best day in terms of receiving for the Bengals, bringing in 3 throws for 49 yards (16.3 yds per catch). Cincinnati rushed the football for 6.1 yards per attempt, finishing the game with 183 yds on 30 attempts. The Bengals finished the game with a total of 328 yards on 61 plays (5.4 yards per play). The Bengals pass defense conceded a completion rate of 50.0%, surrendering 140 yards on 13 out of 26 passing. Cincinnati surrendered 24 attempts on the ground for 104 yds (4.3 yards per rush).

In terms of how much they scored, the Bengals had a ranking of 16th in the league holding an average of 21.5 points per game. Last year, the Bengals had a total of 3,895 yards via the pass as well as an average of 229.1 throwing yards per game, ranking them 15th in football. They had an average of 89.8 yards per game on the ground and rushed for 1,527 yards in total. The Cincinnati Bengals had an average of 318.9 yards per contest which had them sitting 22nd in the league. The Cincinnati offense had 614 yards of penalties on 76 infractions, which was good for 31st in football in terms of making mistakes. They tossed 14 picks while letting opponents recover 2 fumbles and they tallied 208 first downs.

The Bengals allowed 22.6 PPG, which had them ranked 21st in football. They allowed 23 touchdowns through the air and 248.4 yards per game, which had them sitting 28th in the league. Cincinnati allowed a total of 2,145 rushing yards (126.2 yards per game) in addition to 17 touchdowns via the rush last season. The Bengals defense participated in 1,055 plays, which had them ranked 10th in football. Their defense had 26 turnovers (9 fumbles and 17 picks) in the previous season. Overall, they relinquished 384 points in total.

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

Josh's Pick: Take the Bengals -9.5

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