Detroit Lions (8-6 SU, 7-6-1 ATS) vs. Cincinnati Bengals (5-9 SU, 7-7 ATS)
NFL Week 16
Date/Time: Sunday, December 24th, 2017 1:00 PM ET
Where: Paul Brown Stadium Cincinnati, OH
TV:FOX
by Keith, Expert Football Handicapper, Predictem.com
Point Spread: DET -5/ CIN +5
Over/Under Total: 43.5
The Detroit Lions and the Cincinnati Bengals will meet for a pivotal clash that has playoff positioning implications on the line when the NFC North squares off with the AFC North. The game will be aired for regional audiences on FOX with a kick-off time of 1:00 PM ET. The contest will come live from Paul Brown Stadium in Cincinnati, Ohio on Christmas Eve. The two teams last met in 2013 in Detroit when the Lions edged out the Bengals 27-24. Overall, Cincinnati has won the last five meetings between the two teams. In this span, the Bengals are 4-1 ATS.
The Lions come in on a two-game winning streak after defeating the Chicago Bears for the second time this season. In Detroit, the Lions were far more in control compared to the previous edition as the Lions would roar to a 20-10 victory in MoTown. In their last encounter with Chicago, the Lions were lucky to leave the Windy City with a W after Matt Prater kicked the Lions to an essential win on a late field goal. Overall, Detroit has won five of their last seven contests. Over this span, the Lions were able to foster a 4-2-1 mark against the spread. The two losses came at Baltimore where the Lions were tarred and feathered by the Ravens defense in route to a 44-20 loss. The Lions also fell on Thanksgiving to rival Minnesota at home in the first match-up of the Turkey Bash.
The Detroit Lions have a reputation of being a mediocre team. It is for this reason we have not seen Detroit make it deep in the playoffs even when they have qualified and why so many have been reluctant to express long-term faith in this franchise. In the off-season, the talk of the town was the signing of franchise quarterback Matthew Stafford which at the time was the biggest contract for any sports athlete in history. The record would soon be broken but the fact remains that Detroit has a lot of faith in the former #1 draft pick out of the University of Georgia. With the acquisition of Marvellous Marvin Jones at wide receiver to complement Golden Tate, the Detroit offense has looked primed for the action for the first time since the retirement of one of the games great receivers Calvin Johnson. He was known by many as others as Megatron.
From the offset of this market, the Lions have generated a lot of heat. Detroit has taken back 92% of both the ticket and cash action in this market. As a result, the number has risen by 1.5 points from the starting point. Contrarily, we have seen a different set of circumstances arise in the Over/Under. Presently, the number has remained idle despite 76% of the cash and 64% of the tickets being cashed on the Over. 100% of the consensus also like Detroit and the Over in this market.
A big item of discussion and scrutiny for this contest is the must-win factor for Detroit. The Lions control their own destiny with the NFL playoff picture as they will make it in as a wildcard team if they win out and Atlanta loses just once. With Dallas lurking on their tail, the Lions will treat this game as a playoff game. For Cincinnati, the Bengals will make the most of it but they are eliminated from the post-season. These ingredients make Detroit an appealing play. However, that would be ill-advised. The pressure on Detroit is far more enormous than Cincinnati. The Bengals know matter what they do here have everything to gain and nothing to lose and thus will be bound to play looser. This is especially true given the venue of this contest. The fact remains a raucous crowd will be in Detroits face every step of the way and we cant trust them spotting this kind of lumber given the slip-up factor that accompanies a team with the potential to play tight. Cincinnati may just win this game outright and ruin Detroits post-season aspirations.
Keith’s Pick to Cover the Point Spread: CINCINNATI +5 – If you went to the store and two of the same exact product were sitting side by side; One for $105.00 and one for $110.00, which would you buy? THE CHEAPER ONE OF COURSE! So why are you still betting at -110 odds when you could be betting at -105? Dump your overpriced bookie TODAY and start enjoying the benefits of discounted odds at the web’s BEST sportsbook: 5Dimes!
