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— Saturday, January 22nd Cincinnati Bengals @ Tennessee Titans
The NFL Divisional Round of the playoffs get underway Saturday when the AFC’s top-seeded Tennessee Titans host the Cincinnati Bengals. The Titans were at home last weekend with a bye week while the Bengals won their first playoff game in 31 years. Saturday’s game will air on CBS with kickoff set for 4:30 p.m. ET at Nissan Stadium in Nashville.
These teams didn’t meet in the 2021 season and have played just since in the last four years. The Bengals won that game in November 2020 and have taken three of the last four overall though the Titans won the most recent game in Nashville. They haven’t met in the playoffs since the Titans relocated, but the Bengals do have a 1991 win over the Houston Oilers in the Wild Card round.
Burrow Leads Bengals Attack
The Bengals are 11-7 ATS this season, and the under is 10-8 in their 18 games. They are 5-3 on the road, with one of those losses coming in a meaningless Week 18 game. They have only left the state of Ohio twice since October, winning in both Denver and Las Vegas.
Cincinnati ranks seventh in the NFL in passing yards (259 ypg), 23rd in rushing (102.5), and seventh in scoring (27.1 ppg). The defense ranks fifth against the run (102.5), 26th against the pass (248.4), and 17th in scoring defense (22.1).
In the Wild Card win over Las Vegas, Joe Burrow threw for 244 yards and two touchdowns while the defense forced two turnovers. Burrow threw for 4,611 yards in the regular season with 34 touchdowns and 14 interceptions. He finished the season with 971 yards and eight touchdowns in the final two regular-season games.
Joe Mixon led the Bengals in the regular season with 1,205 rushing yards but was held to just 48 yards by the Raiders. He scored 13 touchdowns on the season but has just one touchdown since December 5.
Rookie Ja’marr Chase caught 81 passes in the regular season for 1,456 yards and 13 touchdowns. He had nine catches for 116 yards last week while Tyler Boyd and tight end C.J. Uzomah caught the touchdown passes. Tee Higgins had 74 catches for 1,091 yards and six scores in the regular season, while Boyd caught 67 passes for 828 yards and five touchdowns.
Henry Could Boost Titans
The Titans are 10-7 ATS on the season, and the under is 9-8 in their 17 games. They went 7-2 at home in the regular season, with the losses coming to Houston in November and Arizona in Week 1. Tennessee finished strong with wins over San Francisco, Miami, and Houston to close the regular season and clinch the top seed.
Tennessee ranks fifth in the NFL in rushing (141.4) and could get All-Pro Derrick Henry back from IR. The defense is second against the run (84.6) but 25th against the pass (245.2), and they allow just 20.8 ppg. The Titans are 0-4-1 ATS at home in their playoff history since the move and 2-3 straight up.
Getting Henry back could be the boost the Titans need to return to the Super Bowl for the first time in 22 years. He fractured his foot on November 1 after rushing for 937 yards and ten touchdowns. D’Onta Foreman has 566 yards and three touchdowns on the season, including 199 yards combined in the last two games.
Quarterback Ryan Tannehill has thrown for 3,734 yards on the season with 21 touchdowns and 14 interceptions. He has seven touchdowns and zero interceptions in the last three games but has only topped 300 yards twice this season. Tannehill threw nine of his interceptions at home this season with ten touchdowns and a 68 percent completion rate.
When A.J. Brown has been healthy this season, he has delivered, leading the Titans with 63 catches for 869 yards and five touchdowns. Brown has a touchdown in two of the last three games, and he caught 11 balls for 145 yards against San Francisco in Week 16. Julio Jones had five catches for 58 yards and a touchdown in Week 18, while Nick Westbrook-Ikhine had five for 78 and a touchdown.
Betting Analysis
- Cincinnati Bengals +3.5 (-110). Moneyline +150
- Tennessee Titans -3.5 (-110). Moneyline -180
- Total Points 47.5. Over -110. Under -110
The under has hit in each of the last four games at Nissan Stadium, and if Henry takes some time to knock the rust off, the Titans will be slow out of the gate.
The Bengals, meanwhile, will use a heavy dose of Burrow to try and control the game, and they can strike quickly. Taking the Bengals and the points is the trendy play, but the under is the better bet.
Betting Pick: Under 47.5 points (-110)
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