NFL Sunday Night Football Betting
For the second time in three weeks the NFL flexed its authority with the schedule to switch games moving the matchup between the Cincinnati Bengals and Los Angeles Chargers into the Sunday Night Football primetime slot to conclude the Week 11 betting day. It seemed like a good idea before the season began to feature Aaron Rodgers and the New York Jets in several premier time slots. However, they’ve failed miserably with Sunday’s 31-6 loss at Arizona dropping them to 3-7. So instead we get a matchup between the NFL’s top passer in Joe Burrow and the league’s best scoring defense.
Cincy dropped to 4-6 following a crushing, 35-34, loss to Baltimore in last week’s Thursday night game. The Bengals are still very much alive in the playoff race, though, and the offense has been clicking behind Burrow scoring 75 points the last two weeks. The Bolts ran their winning streak to three games with their 27-17 win over Tennessee and they’ve yet to allow more than 20 points in a game this season. The teams last met in the 2021 season with the Chargers extending their winning streak to three thanks to a 41-22 victory in which Justin Herbert tossed three TD passes.
NFL Week 11 Sunday Night Football Betting Odds
Cincinnati Bengals +1
Los Angeles Chargers -1
Total: 47
Money Line: Bengals +100, Chargers -120
It’s unlikely that either team wins their division leaving the three wild card spots as their only playoff recourse. In a drastic twist the Chargers have enjoyed success due to their defense. In four seasons prior to Jim Harbaugh’s arrival, the Bolts finished no better than 21st in points allowed. And during that time they had one playoff trip losing a wild card game to Jacksonville in 2022 when the defense crumbled blowing a 27-0 lead.
It’s been a different story in 2024, though. The unit has held all nine opponents to 20 points or less and it’s been most effective when defending the red zone. The Chargers are second-best in the NFL in preventing teams from scoring inside the red zone allowing a TD on fewer than 39 percent of their drives. That has enabled the Chargers to boast the No. 1 scoring defense allowing just 13.1 points per game.
Their ability to get to the quarterback has helped shape LA’s unit. Five players have at least 3.0 sacks led by Tuli Tuipulotu with 5.5 and Bud Dupree with 5.0. Their 31 sacks as a team rank the Bolts tied for fourth. And they’ll need to pressure Burrow, who has been torching opponents recently. Last week Burrow was 34 of 56 with 428 yards and four TDs. Over his last two games when the Bengals scored 34 and 41 points he has nine touchdown passes upping his season total to a NFL-best tying 24. Burrow also lead the NFL in passing yards and has the second-best passer rating.
LA’s Justin Herbert may not have the stats that Burrow does, but he’s been efficient leading an offense that doesn’t have to score nearly every time it has the ball. Herbert was 14 of 18 for 164 yards and a TD in Sunday’s 27-17 win over Tennessee, matching the team’s highest point total of the season, which was set a week earlier against the Browns. Herbert has thrown just 241 passes this season, which is more than 100 fewer attempts than Burrow, who leads the NFL with 358 passes thrown. Herbert has completed 66 percent of those attempts with 11 TDs and, most importantly, only one interception.
Valuing the football has been a specialty of the Bolts this season. They have the fewest turnovers of any team and their plus-9 differential is second best. Harbaugh has his team playing a style of ball that earned his Michigan Wolverines a perfect season and national championship at the collegiate just last year. And he’s continued to have success at the NFL level after four-year run in San Francisco that produced 44 regular season wins, three NFC Championship game trips and a Super Bowl appearance.
Sunday Night Football Betting Schedule
In Week 2, the Houston Texans will host the Chicago Bears in a matchup of two of the emerging quarterback stars of the NFL. Last year, CJ Stroud, who was taken 2nd overall in the 2023 NFL Draft, led the Houston Texans to the AFC South Championship and a playoff win over the Cleveland Browns. Stroud shot down the adage about rookie NFL QBs not being able to deliver. Instead, Stroud threw for 4108 yards and a 23/5 TD/INT ratio. DeMeco Ryans had a spectacular debut as Houston’s coach, but now Ryans and Stroud face higher expectations, and the scrutiny of proving their success was not a fluke.
Of course, the Bears took Caleb Williams first overall in the 2024 NFL Draft. Williams does not have the supporting cast that Stroud had last year. Williams also arrives with what many believe to be a quirky personality that may not be best for leading an NFL locker room. The Bears gave up on Justin Fields, who they took in the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft, after just three seasons on a team with little support. Chicago remains a team that generates a lot of ambiguity and little in the way of optimism from gamblers.
One of the best Sunday night matchups in the early going is a Week 4 affair between the visiting Buffalo Bills and the Baltimore Ravens. Both teams won their respective divisions last year. The QB matchup of Josh Allen of the Bills and Lamar Jackson of the Ravens is one of the best possible. The Ravens and Bills could easily meet in the 2024 NFL Playoffs.
Week 8 is certain to bring ratings and scrutiny when the San Francisco 49ers host the Dallas Cowboys. Dallas head coach Mike McCarthy and QB Dak Prescott are under intense pressure to deliver a Super Bowl berth after flopping in the playoffs. Owner Jerry Jones, age 81, is eager to gain one last Lombardi Trophy but, as always, has a team that is never quite complete. The Dallas track record of falling short since the 1994 departure of head coach Jimmy Johnson offers no comfort or reason to believe that anything will ultimately change with America’s team.
Meanwhile, the San Francisco 49ers are the defending NFC champions and are coming off their second heartbreaking loss in five years to the Kansas City Chiefs in the Super Bowl. San Francisco is certainly the team to beat in the NFC West. General manager John Lynch and head coach Kyle Shanahan have proven to be a highly effective leadership tandem.
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