Battle of the big cats: Lions at Bengals
If you ever wanted to know who would win in a fight between a lion and a tiger …well, you’ll have to keep waiting to find out. But in such a matchup of big cats in the NFL there should be little question that the Bengals will have their way with the Lions. In fact there is no wider NFL football odds spread in the week 13 action than this game.
The home team, Cincy, is favored by 13 points, which is awfully wide, but so is the gulf between these two teams. Take for example that the Bengals are 8-3 (6-0 in one of the toughest divisions in football) vs. the Lions woeful 2-9 record. For the Lions to win would take two things –and neither one is impossible: rookie QB Matthew Stafford must have another 400 yard+, 5 TD game and the Bengals must implode.
As for the first event, it’s possible, but not likely. The Bengals have one of the best defenses in the NFL odds (1st in the NFL in point allowed, 15 ppg) and will pressure the bejeezus out of the rookie. A Bengal implosion would seem more likely. We’re accustomed to seeing the Bungles shoot themselves in the foot and this could be the game where the late season football odds meltdown begins.
But this Cincy team seems different. It’s much more balanced than in the past and has owned the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball. Bengals prevail over the Lions at home.