Titans fans won’t find much company in the national picks this week. Across NFL.com, ESPN, CBS Sports and Sports Illustrated, 17 analysts picked Sunday’s game in Cincinnati straight up, and all 17 took the Bengals over a Tennessee Titans team that just traded Jeffery Simmons to Chicago.
That lines up with the power rankings, where Tennessee is stuck near the bottom at 1-6. The Bengals have grown into 12.5-point favorites at DraftKings after most of these picks were made with the line at 10.5.
NFL.com: Bengals, five of five
Jamie Sabau-Imagn Images via Reuters Connect
All five NFL.com analysts took Cincinnati, and nobody gave Tennessee more than 24 points. Gennaro Filice has it 38-13, Bobby Kownack 42-24 and Jeremy Bergman 27-19, the closest score of the group.
Kownack’s case is about what Joe Burrow looks like when the offense clicks. “Cincinnati is maddeningly inconsistent on offense, but when Joe Burrow and Co. are on, no one can touch them,” he wrote at NFL.com. He also pointed to the Simmons trade as one more reason the Bengals are better on both sides of the ball.
ESPN: Bengals, three of three
Pamela Maldonado (27-20), Eric Moody (30-17) and Seth Walder (30-10) all picked Cincinnati, and ESPN’s Football Power Index gives the Bengals an 86.6% chance to win. Walder’s bold prediction has Cam Ward throwing fewer than 10 passes in the first half, built on Tennessee’s 31st-ranked pass rate over expected, per ESPN.
Maldonado’s score is the friendliest Titans fans will see. She thinks Tony Pollard can keep drives alive against a defense that allows 4.7 yards per carry, the same angle we took in our bold predictions.
CBS Sports: Bengals 36-10
Pete Prisco went big with a 36-10 Bengals win. “Look for an offensive explosion from the Bengals as Burrow starts to get into the MVP talk,” Prisco wrote for CBS Sports. Burrow has thrown four touchdown passes without an interception in back-to-back games, and that hot streak puts the Titans’ best defensive stat at risk.
Sports Illustrated: Bengals, eight of eight
The MMQB staff went 8-0 for Cincinnati, with Albert Breer and Conor Orr among the group. It didn’t offer reasoning for this one.
Bleacher Report: Two votes for the Titans with the points
Steve Roberts-Imagn Images
Here’s where Tennessee finds a little support. Bleacher Report’s panel picks against the spread, and Brad Gagnon and Moe Moton took the Titans with the points in a 5-2 split. “The oddsmakers want you to buy the Bengals high here, but I don’t trust them yet,” Gagnon wrote at Bleacher Report, noting that five of Tennessee’s seven games have been decided by six points or fewer.
That’s the case for keeping the TV on past halftime. Tennessee has been outscored 72-3 in the second quarter this season, and Ward knows it. The Titans “can’t afford the lulls,” the quarterback said this week, per the team’s website. Robert Saleh called Cincinnati the best team Tennessee has faced this season, so the margin for another slow stretch is about as thin as it gets.
More on the Tennessee Titans
- Tony Pollard vs. Bengals Week 8: Four Expectations for Titans RB
- Should You Start Wan’Dale Robinson Against the Bengals With Carnell Tate Out in Week 8?
- 3 Best Titans Player Prop Bets for Week 8 at Bengals: No Carnell Tate Means Fading Cam Ward
- Why Did the Titans Trade Jeffery Simmons? Answering 5 Questions Titans Fans Are Asking
