The Cincinnati Bengals (7-6) travel to the Mile High City Sunday for their Week 15 showdown with the Denver Broncos (7-6). Kickoff from Empower Field at Mile High is scheduled for 4:05 p.m. ET. Below, we look at the Bengals vs. Broncos odds and lines, and make our best NFL picks, predictions and bets.
Cincy has lost back-to-back games to the Los Angeles Chargers 41-22 in Week 13 and the San Francisco 49ers 26-23 in overtime this past weekend. The Bengals are 6-7 ATS and 6-7 O/U with the easiest schedule in the NFL, according to Football Outsiders.
Denver has alternated between winning and losing its last five games with the latest being a 38-10 home beatdown of the Detroit Lions in Week 14. The Broncos are 7-6 ATS and 3-10 O/U with the third-easiest schedule per Football Outsiders.
Also see: Bet Slippin’ Podcast: NFL Week 15 picks and predictions
Bengals at Broncos odds, spread and lines
Odds provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 10:19 a.m. ET.
- Money line: Bengals +122 (bet $100 to win $122) | Broncos -150 (bet $150 to win $100)
- Against the spread (ATS): Bengals +2.5 (+102) | Broncos -2.5 (-125)
- Over/Under (O/U): 44.5 (O: -108 | U: -112)
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Bengals at Broncos key injuries
Bengals
- RT Riley Reiff (ankle) out
- LB Logan Wilson (shoulder) out
- CB Chidobe Awuzie (foot) out
- CB Vernon Hargreaves III (illness) out
- C Trey Hill (illness) questionable
- LB Markus Bailey (neck) questionable
Broncos
- RB Melvin Gordon (thumb) questionable
- RB Javonte Williams (knee) questionable
- RT Bobby Massie (hip) questionable
- DE Shelby Harris (ankle) questionable
- S Kareem Jackson (back) questionable
- DE Dre’Mont Jones (foot) doubtful
- LB Kenny Young (concussion) doubtful
Let’s Make This Interesting
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Bengals at Broncos odds, lines, predictions and picks
Prediction
Broncos 24, Bengals 20
Money line
GIMME the BRONCOS (-150) for 1 unit because the Bengals feel like a square or public underdog.
This is a Pros vs. Joe’s game with more money coming in on Denver while more bets have been placed on Cincy according to pregame.com — 52% of the money is on the Broncos but 84% of the wagers are on the Bengals at the time of publishing.
However, oddsmakers have reacted by increasing the Broncos up from a -121 money line favorite on the world opener to the current number. Normally, in sports betting, we’d like to follow the money when it’s fading the public.
Cincy’s secondary is also missing a couple of players and Denver has a full stable of pass-catchers. The Bengals struggled versus the pass anyway: Cincy’s defense ranks 29th in passing yards allowed per game and 18th in DVOA.
BET the BRONCOS (-150).
Against the spread
Slight “LEAN” to the BRONCOS -2.5 (-125) for a small wager — if at all — only because I think Denver will cover in this game since points generally don’t make as big of a difference as the casual bettor may think. However, the better play is laying it with Denver’s money line instead.
The betting splits for the “sides” in Bengals-Broncos also suggest Denver is the sharp play.
Again, the way I’m getting down on this game is with Denver’s money line but I’d endorse a tiny wager on the BRONCOS -2.5 (-125).
Over/Under
Slight “LEAN” to the UNDER 44.5 (-112) since it’s the more expensive side, which is the oddsmakers’ way of trying to incentivize us to bet the weaker side.
The total market in Bengals-Broncos is also a Pros vs. Joe’s spot with a slight majority of the cash being on the Under whereas more wagers are on the Over.
That said, I much prefer Denver straight-up more than the Broncos laying 2.5 points or the Under.
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