Two of the longest tenured coaches in the NFL will square off on Saturday night in the Queen City when the Cincinnati Bengals play host to the Kansas City Chiefs. Both teams are feeling good about their quarterback situations after their first preseason games and will look for the good vibes to continue here. It will be the Bengals last home game of the preseason after they hosted their preseason opener against Tampa Bay.
This matchup in Week 2 of the preseason will take place on Saturday, August 19, 2017,
at 7 p.m. ET at Paul Brown Stadium in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Week 2 NFL Preseason Opening Odds at BookMaker.eu
Kansas City Chiefs +1.5 -105
Cincinnati Bengals -1.5 -115
Over/Under 39
Odds Analysis
The Bengals easily covered the spread in that one following a solid third quarter from Jeff Driskel. Driskel led the team on two 70-yard touchdown drives in the quarter, and controlled the clock for over 11 minutes. However, the over failed to cash after beleaguered Buccaneers kicker Roberto Aguayo failed to hit a 47-yard field goal late.
Kansas City was up on San Francisco 17-9 before rookie CJ Beathard led the 49ers to 18 fourth-quarter points to get the victory. The offensive outburst pushed the game well over the total but also meant the Chiefs failed to cover the spread, which was lofty by preseason standards.
Matchup to Watch
Reid is a quarterback guru, so it was not surprising to see youngster Pat Mahomes II play so well in his first game. Mahomes started the third quarter and threw his first career touchdown pass and led the team on a drive that ended in a field goal too. Starter Alex Smith was only on the field for one drive, but led the Chiefs right down the field for a touchdown.
Cincinnati got long drives out of all three of its starting quarterbacks. The Bengals knew what they had in Andy Dalton and AJ McCarron, but were impressed by the performance of Driskel. He showed off the scrambling ability that made him a success at Louisiana Tech too.
Mahomes moved up to the depth chart after his performance and should see much more action in this game. While Tyler Bray struggled, Mahomes showed off the skill that made the Chiefs trade up in order to snag him. Reid will likely test the waters more with him too after he showed he can handle himself.
Although Driskel played well, he will see less of the field in this game as Lewis plays Dalton and McCarron more. McCarron especially should see more action as he will be a free agent at the end of the season. Cincinnati will want to know what it has in McCarron and should play him more than either of the other two quarterbacks in this one. It’s also a chance to show him off to potential suitors.
Players to Watch
Cincinnati used its first two draft picks on skill position players and fans are extremely excited to see both in this offense.
Wide receiver John Ross is just starting to practice with the squad and didn’t play in the preseason opener due to injury. He had surgery for a torn labrum in his shoulder shortly after being drafted, but has been unable to practice with the team as the training staff wanted to be cautious with his injury. Ross won’t play in this one, but the team’s other top draft choice will.
It won’t be long until Joe Mixon starts threatening Jeremy Hill for the starting running back spot. Mixon had a good debut against Tampa Bay and has more physical talent than either Hill or Gio Bernard. Mixon should see more time over the next couple preseason games.
Free ATS Pick
Both of these teams have good quarterbacks and solid depth at the position. That makes the over a great bet as long as the total stays under 40 points.
Week 2 NFL Preseason Odds: Bengals 27 Chiefs 23
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