Oakland Raiders vs. Cincinnati Bengals 2019: Prediction Against The Spread, Odds, Week 11 Preview

It’s time to accept the fact that the Oakland Raiders are a serious threat to win the AFC West. As a legitimate playoff contender, Jon Gruden’s squad won’t have any trouble defeating the NFL’s only winless team.

The Raiders are set to host the Cincinnati Bengals Sunday afternoon. According to OddsShark, Oakland is among the biggest favorites on the Week 11 schedule. The early betting line is 10.5 points and the total is 49.

Week 10 didn’t provide any hope for Cincinnati that they’ll pick up their first victory any time soon. With rookie quarterback Ryan Finley replacing Andy Dalton to make his first NFL start, the Bengals were blown out at home by the Baltimore Ravens 49-13.

It was Cincinnati’s third consecutive double-digit loss. The Bengals are being outscored by an average of 13.6 points per game.

Oakland is on extra rest after beating the Los Angeles Chargers 26-24 on “Thursday Night Football” in Week 10. The victory put the Raiders above .500. Oakland has a 4-0 record straight up and against the spread against teams that have a losing record.

Derek Carr went 21-31 for 218 yards and a touchdown against the Chargers. He ranks first among all quarterbacks that have made at least five starts, completing 70.8% of his passes. Carr is sixth in the NFL with a 104.4 passer rating. He has one interception in his last six games.

The Raiders have scored at least 24 points in all six of those contests. Oakland has faced three top-10 defenses during that stretch. Cincinnati ranks dead last in both total defense and opponents’ yards per play. The Bengals have given up at least 21 points to every opponent.

No one has a worse rushing defense than the Bengals. Cincinnati is giving up 5.2 yards per rush, and they comfortably rank last in the NFL with 173.0 rushing yards allowed per game. Raiders’ running back Josh Jacobs is averaging 90.1 rushing yards per game, making him a top candidate to win the 2019 Offensive Rookie of the Year award.

The Raiders don’t exactly have a terrific defense. Oakland is 30th in opponents’ yards per play and 26th in yards allowed per game. Opposing quarterbacks have a 109.1 passer rating against the Raiders, putting them one spot behind the Bengals for 30th in the NFL.

But Oakland’s defense has been good enough against the worst signal callers on their schedule.

Joe Flacco and the Denver Broncos only scored 16 points in a Week 1 loss at Oakland. Chase Daniel threw two interceptions when the Raiders beat the Chicago Bears in London. Oakland even picked off Philip Rivers three times in last week’s victory.

Completing just over half of his passes for 167 yards, one touchdown and one interception, Finley showed little in his debut to indicate he will bring much change to Cincinnati’s struggling offense.

The Bengals scored a season-high 23 points in Week 5. Cincinnati has been held to 17 points or fewer in seven of their last eight games.

Oakland has taken care of business against bad teams all season long. With a chance to take over first place in the AFC West with a win, that shouldn’t change Sunday.

Prediction: Oakland over Cincinnati, 33-19