The Cincinnati Bengals will try to stay in first place in the AFC North when they take on the visiting Jacksonville Jaguars on Thursday Night Football. The Jaguars (0-3), who are coming off a 31-19 loss to Arizona, have lost 18 games in a row after going 1-15 a year ago. Jacksonville’s last winning season was in 2017. The Bengals (2-1), who beat Pittsburgh 24-10 on Sunday, are looking for their first winning season since 2015.
Kickoff from Paul Brown Stadium in Cincinnati is set for 8:20 p.m. ET. Cincinnati is a 7.5-point favorite in the latest Jaguars vs. Bengals odds from Caesars Sportsbook, while the over-under for total points scored is 46. Before locking in any Bengals vs. Jaguars picks or NFL predictions, make sure you see what SportsLine expert Mike Tierney has to say.
A national sportswriter whose work appears in The New York Times and Los Angeles Times, Tierney has covered the NFL for decades and reported from seven Super Bowls. He’s used his experience to crush the NFL, going 187-147 against the spread the past three seasons.
In addition, Tierney is 25-12 on his last 37 against the spread NFL picks involving the Jaguars. Anyone who has followed him is way up.
Now, Tierney has locked in on Jaguars vs. Bengals from every angle and released a confident against-the-spread pick. You can visit SportsLine now to see it. Here are several NFL lines and trends for Bengals vs. Jaguars:
- Jaguars vs. Bengals spread: Cincinnati -7.5
- Jaguars vs. Bengals over-under: 46 points
- Jaguars vs. Bengals money line: Jacksonville +280, Cincinnati -350
- JAC: Under has hit in the last two Jaguars games
- CIN: Bengals are 5-1 ATS in their last six home games against teams with losing road records
Featured Game | Cincinnati Bengals vs. Jacksonville Jaguars
Why the Bengals can cover
Cincinnati is led by quarterback Joe Burrow, the top pick in the 2020 NFL Draft. He completed 14 of 18 passes (career high 77.8 percent) for 172 yards, three touchdowns and one interception for a rating of 122.9 against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday. Burrow is one of three AFC quarterbacks with two or more touchdown passes in three games in 2021. The others are Derek Carr of the Las Vegas Raiders and Patrick Mahomes of the Kansas City Chiefs. In his only career game on Thursday Night Football, Burrow passed for 316 yards and three TDs with no interceptions at Cleveland on Sept. 17, 2020.
Another offensive weapon the Bengals possess is running back Joe Mixon. He rushed for 90 yards in Week 3 and is looking for his fourth game in a row with 70 or more yards from scrimmage. In the last meeting against the Jaguars, Mixon rushed for 151 yards and had 30 receiving yards with a career-high three touchdowns, including two on the ground. He is looking for his third Thursday Night Football game in a row with 85 or more yards from scrimmage.
Why the Jaguars can cover
Despite that, Cincinnati is not a lock to cover the Jaguars vs. Bengals spread. That’s because Jacksonville has the top pick in this year’s draft in quarterback Trevor Lawrence. He completed 22-of-34 passes (season-high 64.7 percent) for 219 yards and one touchdown against Arizona. He was picked off twice but rushed for a season-high 27 yards last week.
Also powering the offense is running back James Robinson, who led the team with a season-high 134 yards from scrimmage, including 88 rushing, and had his first rushing touchdown of the season. In his last meeting against the Bengals, Robinson rushed for 75 yards and had 107 yards from scrimmage. He is looking for his third game in a row against an AFC North team with a touchdown. In his only career TNF game against Miami in 2020, he had 129 yards from scrimmage, including 83 receiving yards.
How to make Bengals vs. Jaguars picks
For Thursday Night Football, Tierney is leaning under the total, but he also says a critical X-factor makes one side of the spread a must-back. He’s sharing it only at SportsLine.
So who wins Jaguars vs. Bengals on Thursday Night Football? And what critical X-factor makes one side of the spread a must-back? Visit SportsLine now to see which side of the Bengals vs. Jaguars spread you should jump on, all from the NFL expert who’s an amazing 25-12 on picks involving Jacksonville, and find out.
