The Baltimore Ravens are on a pretty big winning streak, having defeated the Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots. It’s widely assumed the Patriots and Seahawks are among the best teams in the league, yet the Ravens handled both with relative ease. As Baltimore’s attentions turn back to the AFC North and the Cincinnati Bengals, it seems oddsmakers are believers.
According to BetMGM, the Ravens are 9.5-point favorites over the Bengals. It’s the second-highest spread of the week, getting edged out by the New Orleans Saints over the Atlanta Falcons.
It makes sense oddsmakers would be heavily favoriting Baltimore in Week 10. Cincinnati will feature rookie quarterback Ryan Finley in his very first NFL game. That has typically been a recipe for disaster in previous seasons with the Ravens’ complicated and aggressive defensive scheme causing trouble for young quarterbacks.
In addition, the Bengals are 0-8 for a good reason. They’ve struggled to protect quarterback Andy Dalton prior to his benching and with very few weapons on offense, they’re ranked 25th. Cincinnati’s defense is somehow even worse, sitting at No. 32. Considering the Ravens just took down the league’s second-best defense in Week 9, it wouldn’t seem like the Bengals would be much of a match.
