Cincinnati Bengals vs. Washington Football Team Betting Pick

In both teams’ second preseason games, the Cincinnati Bengals travel to take on the Washington Football Team at FedEx Field on Friday night at 8pm EST. Cincinnati enters this matchup following a 19-14 win against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and Washington hopes to win their first preseason game after losing 22-14 to the New England Patriots.

Cincinnati Bengals: Injuries, Injuries, Injuries

Last season, quarterback Joe Burrow suffered a horrific season-ending ACL injury at the hands of this Washington defense. 

He was cleared by his doctors early enough to participate in every training camp and practice so far, but he still has not played in a preseason matchup yet. He was recently officially declared as out for Friday’s game against Washington, along with multiple other players such as cornerbacks Eli Apple, Ricardo Allen, and Donnie Lewis, defensive ends Khalid Kareem and Joseph Ossai, running back Trayveon Williams, center Trey Hopkins, and offensive guard D’Ante Smith.However, despite the absence of Burrow and a lot of other key players, the Bengals performed well in their first preseason match. 

The first-team Bengals offense looked very comfortable against the Buccaneers, moving coherently, smoothly, and with apparent ease. They scored on their first drive but ended up fumbling the ball to end the possession. The first-team defense also played extremely well, allowing only one first down. In the 2020 season, the Bengals defense only allowed 22 sacks, which is the fourth-fewest in the NFL. 

Even though they have only played one preseason game, the Bengals honestly looked pretty sharp; their first-team offense and defense made some big plays and put up great numbers. Their biggest obstacle right now is injuries; some major players have been forced to sit out, including recovering quarterback Joe Burrow.

Washington Football Team: Hope in FedEx Field

The Washington Football Team has been in a dry spell for years, but 2021 might be the season they finally break out of that cycle! They acquired veteran quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick, they have a more-than-solid second-string quarterback in Taylor Heineke, who performed better against Tom Brady than any other quarterback he faced in 2020, and their young defense is led by Chase Young, an explosive defensive end in his second season who got 7.5 sacks in 2020.

Even though they lost their first preseason game, it was, by all means, an extremely close one in which the Patriots were lucky to come off with the win. In all honesty, the Washington Football Team has more potential than they have had in a long time, arguably since the long-gone and painful Robert Griffin III and Kirk Cousins era. Since the Bengals are planning to bench a number of their players due to injuries, Washington has the edge on this preseason matchup.

Bengals vs. Football Team Betting Odds

The Washington Football Team are slated as the favorites for this match, boasting -220 odds, while the Bengals are slated at +175.