New England Patriots (9-2) @ Cincinnati Bengals (3-7)
Sunday, November 23, 1:00 PM ET
Before their matchup against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday, it was reported that the Cincinnati Bengals could soon be getting some serious reinforcements on both sides of the ball with Joe Burrow’s return to the practice field, as well as Trey Hendrickson coming back from injury. Of course, those guys didn’t help against the Steelers, and the Bengals stumbled badly to their 7th loss of the season.
There’s still a lot of football left to be played, but it’s hard to see the Bengals realistically making any noise the rest of the way this season. Wouldn’t it just be the weirdest twist if they were able to get a win this weekend against the Patriots?
The difficult part about making a pick or prediction for this game is that we really don’t know how serious the Bengals are about putting Joe Burrow back out there this season. If they feel like Burrow can come out there and help them run the table, or get to 9-8, maybe we do see him on Sunday.
If that’s the case, you would have to think the line would shift from the Patriots being seven-point road favorites to the Bengals maybe even being favored. Maybe that’s a little bit extreme.
The Patriots have been exceptional this season, especially on the road. In fact, they’re the only NFL team that is still undefeated in road games (5-0). If Burrow plays, I would honestly take the Bengals in this game. Even if not, it’ll be interesting to see this Patriots team in a potential shootout.
Prediction: Patriots win 31-26