Eagles at Bengals: Preview, Prediction, Odds

Philadelphia Eagles vs. Cincinnati Bengals

In Week 13, the Philadelphia Eagles travel to Ohio for an NFC vs. AFC matchup when they take on the Cincinnati Bengals. Both teams are coming into the game off of losses, so they are both looking to get back on track at Paul Brown Stadium.

For the Eagles, the season started hot at 3-0. But they now stand at 5-6 after losing six of their last eight games. Their offense is depleted of weapons, but their rookie quarterback, Carson Wentz, has looked the part in his first NFL season. His numbers may not jump out at you, but the rookie has shown a ton of promise in Philadelphia.

Philadelphia hasn’t been anything close to impressive on the road this season, going 1-5 away from home. This could pose as a big problem considering they are traveling to Cincinnati this weekend, a place they’ve never won (0-3-1).

The Bengals haven’t won a game since their Week 7 matchup against the Cleveland Browns, so they’re looking to get a much needed victory. It has been an ugly year for Cincinnati, losing A.J. Green and Giovani Bernard to injuries, while Andy Dalton hasn’t been good either.

Two of their three wins this season have come at home and they also tied once in their hime stadium. They will be looking to use the energy of their home crowd to move their record to 4-7-1 while putting the Eagles to 5-7.

Eagles Keys To Victory

Run the ball: Cincinnati has given up 120.5 rushing yards per game this season, which is the fifth worst number in the NFL. Philadelphia needs to give rookie fifth-round pick Wendell Smallwood, who only had nine carries last week, a heavy workload.

Stop coaching conservatively: Philadelphia started hot last week, driving down the field with an aggressive passing offense. They kept that going into the second quarter, but head coach Doug Pederson decided to start throwing screen passes, which killed their momentum. Pederson needs to let Wentz throw the ball down the field and be more aggressive.

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Find success on third down: In their loss to the Packers, the Eagles offense was only 5-11 on third down. They need to improve on that number and extend drives. Adding to that, their defense got crushed on third down, allowing the Packers to convert 10 of their 14 third downs. They need to find a way to get a stop and get off of the field.

Bengals Keys To Victory

Even without A.J. Green, throw the ball a lot: Did you see what Aaron Rodgers did to this Eagles secondary last week? Andy Dalton isn’t even on the same planet as Rodgers, but he can easily find success throwing against the Eagles cornerbacks.

Get after Carson Wentz: The rookie quarterback was sacked four times last week, but he was also hit eight other times. The Bengals need to get pressure as much as possible because the Eagles offensive line hasn’t protected their quarterback well as of late.

Learn from Lions and Packers Offense: Both Detroit and Green Bay dominated the Eagles defense by getting the ball off quickly and not allowing their pass rush to be a factor. Cincinnati needs to do the same and make the Eagles cornerbacks make a play, which hasn’t happened much all year.

Odds

Point Spread: Cincinnati -1.5
Moneyline: Philadelphia +105, Cincinnati -125
Over/Under: 42

Next: NFL Picks Against the Spread in Week 13

Prediction

Both teams are trending in the wrong direction, so the game could go either way. Even though Cincinnati is missing two of their biggest stars, the Eagles still have more holes on offense. The Eagles have never won a game in Cincinnati and have been horrible on the road this season. The Bengals will keep it that way on Sunday and walk away with a win.

Pick: Philadelphia Eagles: 17, Cincinnati Bengals: 24

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