The St. Louis Rams (4-6) travel to play the Cincinnati Bengals (8-2) looking to end their three-game losing streak. A player to watch is the NFL’s fourth-leading rusher, Todd Gurley (775 yards, 6 TDs). It will begin Sunday, Nov 29 at 1:00 p.m. ET and can be seen on FOX.
Cincinnati lost a close one to the Cardinals 34-31 last week. Tyler Eifert had a good game in the loss, registering three catches for 22 yards and two TDs. St. Louis also fell short, losing a game they could have won against the Ravens 16-13. Rodney McLeod led the St. Louis defense, totaling six tackles and one interception.
The Bengals are a heavy seven-point favorite and the Over/Under (O/U) for the matchup is 42 points.
The Bengals enter the game with records of 8-2 Straight Up (SU) and 8-1-1 Against The Spread (ATS) this season. In the past five games, Cincinnati is 3-2 SU and 4-1 ATS. The Bengals may look to take advantage of a St. Louis pass defense that allows opposing quarterbacks to complete 68.9% of their passes. The Bengals defense is a tough test at home this season, giving up 16.8 points per game. The Rams may have a difficult time throwing the ball against the Bengals. The Rams average 173.9 passing yards, making them the least effective passing team in the NFL. Cincinnati starts games swiftly, averaging 6.9 points in the first quarter. Cincinnati tops most teams in terms of time of possession. The Bengals have an average time of possession of 32:30 per game for fifth-highest in the league.
As for their opponent, the Rams have a record of 4-5-1 ATS and 4-6 SU. In the previous five games, St. Louis has a record of 2-3 SU and 2-2-1 ATS. When St. Louis hits the road, the rush offense has excelled. Its 132.8 road rushing yards per game ranks fifth in the NFL. Switching gears to the St. Louis defense, it has some favorable matchups that it may be able to take advantage of as well. The Bengals will need to take care of the ball against St. Louis’s defense, which has recovered the most fumbles on the season with one per game.
Predictions: SU Winner – Cin, ATS Winner – Cin, O/U – Under
Notes
Cincinnati is 8-2 SU in its last 10 games.
Cincinnati is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games at home.
Cincinnati is 16-5-2 ATS in its last 23 games at home.
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Cincinnati’s last 6 games when playing St. Louis.
Cincinnati is 0-4-1 ATS in its last 5 games when playing St. Louis.
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of St. Louis’s last 6 games when playing Cincinnati.
St. Louis is 3-2 SU this season, when leading at the half. Cincinnati is 6-2 SU when taking a lead into halftime.
Cincinnati is 2-1 SU in games where it wins the turnover battle, and 5-1 SU in games where it loses the turnover battle.
The Cincinnati pass defense is ranked 15th in the NFL, while the St. Louis offensive passing attack is ranked last.
St. Louis has allowed 21.4 points per game on the road, which ranks it 13th in the league. Cincinnati has scored 24.8 points per game at home (ranked 12th overall).
