The Cincinnati Bengals have made it to the AFC title game the past two seasons in a row. Sportsbooks are expecting big things once again, as the club is one of the top five betting favorites to win Super Bowl 58. So what is it that makes Cincinnati one of the favorites for the coming campaign? Let’s take a look at the latest Bengals odds and get insight from an industry pro.
Best available Cincinnati Bengals odds
As we look ahead to Week 1 of the NFL regular season, the Bengals are among the betting favorites in a number of futures markets.
For the Super Bowl, the Bengals are currently the fifth choice on the board, behind only the Chiefs, Eagles, Bills and 49ers. In the chase for the AFC crown, Cincinnati is slightly behind Kansas City and Buffalo in betting odds.
The Bengals are also the favorites to win the AFC North, with the Ravens currently in the second slot, then the Browns and Steelers. For betting on the team’s total wins, Cincinnati is one of just a handful of teams with a projected number in double digits.
Meanwhile, Joe Burrow is one of the top three betting favorites to win the NFL MVP award this season, along with Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen. Add it all up, and the expectations are high.
Bengals’ 2022-23 season recap
Looking back to last season, the Bengals came in following a tough 23-20 loss to the Los Angeles Rams in the big game. The dreaded Super Bowl hangover may have been in effect as the club dropped its first two games on its way to a 2-3 start.
By the time Cincinnati reached its Week 10 bye, it had corrected its course with a record of 5-4. The Bengals then continued their winning ways after the break, picking up victories in their final seven games of the season to close at 12-4 and as champions of the AFC North.
In the postseason, the Bengals opened with a home win over the Ravens in round one and followed with a dominant road victory over the Bills in the divisional round. Cincinnati then squared off with the Chiefs in an AFC title game rematch, falling by a score of 23-20.
For the second straight season, the club’s Super Bowl dreams came to an end with a three-point loss to the eventual champion. Through the years, many teams have had to take their lumps before finally getting over the hump. Cincinnati has checked off that box.
Why are the Bengals a top favorite for this season?
For additional insight, we spoke to Christian Cipollini, a sportsbook trading manager at BetMGM, about the Bengals’ prospects for the upcoming season. Here’s what he had to say about the team being one of the top five Super Bowl favorites:
“Back-to-back AFC championship appearances will do that. Also with a roster that has improved. It’s a young team that’s getting older and more experienced. Statistically considered one of the best teams headed into the season.”
As for the division, he noted that the AFC North is among the league’s toughest, perhaps behind only the AFC East and AFC West in terms of overall competitiveness.
“Ravens are expected to be much better this year with a full season of Lamar and some new weapons. The Browns are expected to improve off last season, getting a full year of Deshaun Watson, and the Steelers, while projected to be the worst, are scrappy and never an easy win. So yeah, hard division, way, way harder conference.”
As we count down the days to the kickoff of the regular season, this appears to be a case in which the betting odds are lining up with a team’s realistic expectations. The Bengals could prove to be quite good and dangerous for this campaign, the same as they’ve been for the last two seasons.
