Cincinnati Bengals vs Green Bay Packers Predictions: NFL Week 5

Cincinnati Bengals vs Green Bay Packers Betting Preview

WagerTalk handicapper Tony Mejia offers his Cincinnati Bengals vs Green Bay Packers NFL Week 5 betting predictions. At the time of posting, the Packers are a 3-point road favorite in Cincinnati with the total sitting at 50.5 points.

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Bengals vs Packers Predictions

Week 5 of the NFL season is loaded with attractive matchups but there are only two showdowns between teams that have won three of their first four games taking place. Both involve Ohio-based teams challenging division leaders. A few hours before the Browns visit the Chargers, Aaron Rodgers and the Packers square off with Cincinnati at Paul Brown Stadium.

Green Bay has covered in all three of its wins following its disappointing loss to New Orleans in Jacksonville, winning in San Francisco on a late Mason Crosby field goal and posting comfortable double-digit conquests of the Lions and Steelers. The Pack will now be a road favorite for the first time in 2021 against a Bengals team looking to match their best start since 2018, when they opened 4-1 but wound up 6-10.

Cincinnati played poorly in a Thursday night comeback win over the Jaguars, prevailing on rookie kicker Evan McPherson’s second game-winning field goal in September. It’s no surprise to see the Bengals as a home underdog despite taking the field in the “Jungle” in part because of how ordinary they looked against Jacksonville.

The Bengals’ defense has surrendered 20 or more points in three of their four games despite their opposition entering Week 5 a combined 4-12. Among Cincinnati’s opponents to date, only the Bears have a .500 record. Chicago managed to pull off a 20-17 win at Soldier Field after going up 17 points with less than 10 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, but Cincy responded the following week by running out to a 24-7 lead against the Steelers to win in Pittsburgh for the first time since 2015.

Although they were playing at home on a Thursday night against one of the two winless teams remaining in the NFL, the Bengals fell behind 14-0 and should’ve been down more except for Jacksonville struggling in the red zone. Joe Burrow picked it up in the second half and wound up throwing for a season-best 348 yards, his second-most prolific effort of his young career. He finished with his highest QBR in 14 starts combining with ex-LSU running mate Ja’Marr Chase six times.

With the passing game flourishing and Joe Mixon providing balance, Cincinnati is averaging 23 points per game. Unfortunately, Mixon suffered an ankle sprain that sidelined him late in the win over Jacksonville and will probably keep him out against the Packers. If he’s unable to participate, Samaje Perine and rookie Chris Evans would be tasked with handling the rushing attack.

Green Bay is averaging 30.7 over its last three wins, overcoming its early power outage against the Siants. QB Aaron Rodgers basically demanded that old friend Randall Cobb be brought back as one of the conditions to ending his holdout in order to return to the Packers for at least one more season and he was proven right last Sunday. Rodgers hooked up with Cobb twice for game-changing touchdowns to help defeat the Steelers and he’ll soon get back starting tackles David Bakhtiari and Elgton Jenkins to offer better protection.

Neither is expected to be back for this Week 5 clash, but Green Bay’s offense has thrived without them consistently enough to trust that they’ll be able to generate points. Without Mixon, the Bengals are likely going to put the entire offense on Burrow’s shoulders, entrusting their young quarterback to move it through the air. The Packers are likely going to be without top corner Jaire Alexander and are also missing pass rusher Za’Darius Smith, so Cincinnati does have a window through which to pull off this upset. Green Bay corner Kevin King should play but just cleared concussion protocol.

Expect to see points since Burrow is likely to move the ball well via the passing game and Rodgers won’t be rattled by a road atmosphere in matching his younger adversary. Davante Adams has only caught one touchdown pass all season but does have two 100-yard games and was targeted 18 times in his last road start, picking up 12 receptions and 132 yards. The Bengals have faced Adam Thielen, Justin Jefferson, Allen Robinson, JuJu Smith-Schuster and Diontae Johnson, but Adams is on another level than even those guys.

The total opened at 48 and has since been bet up to 51, but the line move is on the money and shouldn’t be enough to keep you off of the high side. Mixon’s absence means the clock won’t be running as often as it ordinarily would and the fact temperatures will be in the low 80’s should ensure a high-scoring affair as defenses tire throughout the course of four quarters on an unseasonably warm October afternoon in the “Queen City.” Ride the over.

🏈 Before the season started, Texas A&M was viewed as Alabama’s toughest test on the schedule. After five weeks, do we still feel the same way? Join @JoeRaineri @BLeonardSports @MejiaDinero and @davecokin for College Football Daily at 4pm ET / 1pm PT.https://t.co/hzfCBPWtKr

— WagerTalk (@WagerTalk) October 5, 2021

Cincinnati Bengals vs Green Bay Packers Analysis from The GoldSheet

Both teams are strong in their respective roles entering this game. Green Bay is 6-3 against the spread in their last nine road games, not counting the Week 1 neutral site game vs New Orleans. Cincinnati is 5-2 against the spread in their last seven games as a home underdog.

Cincinnati Bengals vs Green Bay Packers Preview

We knew Green Bay would be good this year, but raise your hand if you thought Cincinnati would also be 3-1 heading into Week 5. WagerTalk NFL handicappers Drew Martin, Andy Lang and Andrew McInnis offer their Cincinnati Bengals vs Green Bay Packers betting preview in advance of Sunday’s showdown at Paul Brown Stadium.

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