The final week of the NFL preseason kicks off on Thursday night with a matchup between the Indianapolis Colts and Cincinnati Bengals.
Despite these two teams having joint practices this week, we should still see some decent action from some of the starters, and my Colts vs Bengals predictions see that edge siding with Indy.
Find out why as my NFL picks break down this Aug 22 preseason matchup.
Colts vs Bengals prediction
My best betColts -6.5 (-110 DraftKings)
My analysisLast week, the Indianapolis Colts rested all their starters and opted to instead get them some time in this matchup. Head coach Shane Steichen said the starters will play about a quarter and a half in this matchup with the Bengals. This means we will get to see plenty of Anthony Richardson and Joe Flacco before they give way to Sam Ehlinger to close things out.
Meanwhile, it’s extremely unlikely we’ll see the starters on the Cincinnati Bengals side, who are taking things easy with some of their guys returning from injury. Backup quarterback Jake Browning didn’t participate in the joint practice on Tuesday, so he’s also unlikely to play as he recovers from a rib injury. We should expect a very similar Bengals gameplan to what we saw last week against the Bears.
That game saw Logan Woodside play two and a half quarters before letting Rocky Lombardi finish off the game. Woodside had a solid completion percentage but threw two interceptions and only led the team to three points on seven drives. The Colts defense won’t be much easier for him, with most of the starters playing for about half of his drives.
The Colts starters played two drives each between offense and defense in their first preseason game, and the game was 0-0 when they exited. Flacco led a field goal drive in his one possession. I expect to see a bit more from those guys in this contest against the second and third string from the Bengals.
While you would expect the Colts to get out to a hot start, I still like the full-game spread here more than the first quarter or first half. Last week, the Bengals kept it close in the first half against the Bears starters before falling apart in the third quarter. I want that same insurance here, as the Colts third-stringers will come in fresh against similar third-stringers who will have played a lot of snaps already for the Bengals.
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Colts vs Bengals odds
Colts vs Bengals live odds
Colts vs Bengals opening odds
- Spread: Indianapolis -3 (-105) | Cincinnati +3 (-115)
- Moneyline: Indianapolis -130 | Cincinnati +110
- Over/Under: Over 36.5 (-110) | Under 36.5 (-110)
Colts vs Bengals betting trend to know
The Bengals have lost eight of their last 10 preseason games. Find more NFL betting trends for Colts vs. Bengals.
Colts vs Bengals game info
| Location: | Paycor Stadium, Cincinnati, OH |
| Date: | Thursday, 8-22-2024 |
| Kickoff: | 8:00 p.m. ET |
| TV: | Amazon |
Colts vs Bengals weather
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Jeremy Jones was born and raised in Lexington, Kentucky and has been a massive Wildcats fans since the moment he came into the world. He wrote his first sports article at the tender age of 11 after attending a local AHL hockey game, and a few years later was writing professionally for sites such as Sports Rants, BetAmerica, and TwinSpires.
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