Gross Bombs: NFL Props for Week 16
Josh Gross
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Prop: Cincinnati OVER 5.5 wins (-120, FOXBet)
It’s no secret the Bengals used the first selection in the 2020 NFL Draft on Joe Burrow, who arguably turned in the best season in the history of college football with LSU last year. With that, there is at least some semblance of expectations in Cincinnati heading into the 2020 season, but I’m yet to see anybody that truly believes in this team’s ability to go from two wins to six or seven. Well, I'm one such person. Here's why:
- Cincinnati scored fewer points than all but two teams in 2019, which might make it seem like head coach Zac Taylor — billed as one of the NFL’s up-and-coming offensive gurus — failed to do his job, but it’s hard to truly blame him. The Bengals had one of the worst offensive lines in football, a below-average starting quarterback and a lack of weapons on the outside. However, Cincinnati’s line improved as the season went along, and that unit should be boosted by the return of 2019 first-round pick Jonah Williams. That could lead to a career year for Joe Mixon. And Burrow, the favorite to win Offensive Rookie of the Year, has a nice receiving core to target, headlined by a motivated A.J. Green, who is playing for a contract after an ankle injury cost him all of 2019.
- The Bengals defense was a disaster last season, but the team went out and invested heavily on that side of the ball during the offseason. Cincinnati added D.J. Reader, Trae Waynes, Mackensie Alexander and Vonn Bell via free agency. While it’s fair to question the effectiveness of some of those guys, the fact that the Bengals added four legitimate starters to a struggling defense is a positive. They also did well in drafting Wyoming linebacker Logan Wilson in the third round. He looks like a surefire contributor. With trustworthy talent surrounding them, guys like Geno Atkins, Carlos Dunlap, William Jackson and Carl Lawson should look a lot better than they did a year ago.
- On top of improving on both sides of the ball, the Bengals have a reasonable schedule. Sure, Cincinnati has to face Baltimore and Pittsburgh twice, but the Bengals also have home games against the Chargers, Jaguars, Browns and Giants, in addition to winnable road games against teams like Washington and the Dolphins. And I don’t think it’s crazy to believe that Cincinnati can compete with Tennessee or Dallas when playing at Paul Brown Stadium.
Overall, the Bengals are no longer the easy win they were a year ago. This is going to be a very competitive football team, and I expect them to turn some heads this season.
