The Detroit Lions are back on the road coming off their third win in a row, heading to Cincinnati to take on the Bengals.
At Pride of Detroit, we’ve got a breakdown of the Bengals’ offensive and defensive schemes from Erik Schlitt, a scouting report from Brandon Knapp, and a look at the controversial crew set to officiate the matchup from Jeremy Reisman.
Once you’re done with that assigned reading, I put together some picks, score predictions, and commentary from other NFL analysts on who they think will come out on top in Cincinnati.
CBS Sports’ Pete Prisco: Lions 33, Bengals 20
“The Bengals are playing on a short week after getting blown out by Denver on Monday night. Jake Browning is struggling behind a bad offensive line. The Lions didn’t play as well on offense against the Browns last week as they had been playing, but this will change that. Jared Goff will get back on track.”
CBS Sports’ Tyler Sullivan: Lions 33, Bengals 17
“Aidan Hutchinson should have a field day attacking this offensive line, and the Lions offense should continue to hum against a defense that just allowed Bo Nix to light them up for three total touchdowns Monday night.”
Sporting News’ Bill Bender: Lions 31, Bengals 20
“The Lions have found their offensive stride with Jared Goff – who has a 77.95 completion percentage in three games since the Week 1 loss at Green Bay. The Bengals are 0-2 ATS as a home underdog the last three seasons – so it’s a rare occasion to rise up in this situation. Detroit is 11-2 ATS as a road favorite since 2023. If the Bengals can’t slow down Detroit’s running game, then it’s going to be a long game.”
Four writers at USA Today went with the Lions, while two did not — they’re the only ones I came across who picked against Detroit.
“There’s not much to like about the Bengals heading into Week 5, but 10 points is a large spread for a roster that still has solid talent. I’ll take Cincinnati to cover at home.” — Richard Morin
“A double-digit home dog is too much to pass up. The Lions win, but watch out for a backdoor cover here.” —Blake Schuster
Finally, the entire Monday Morning Quarterback staff of seven analysts picked the Lions, and all 11 NFL experts polled at ESPN did too.
And onto the rest of your notes.
- More picks and predictions from Pro Football Focus’ Dalton Wasserman and Trevor Sikkema.
- “There’s trolls on the internet, on [X], everywhere. So, I can be a troll myself sometimes.” Hopefully you missed it, but there’s been some buzz about Amon-Ra St. Brown staying up late gaming the night before the matchup against the Browns. He shuts it down, reflecting on how much his personal life is scrutinized.
- Baldy’s breaking it down, with high praise for the O-line.
- In other Saint news, he offers a little insight on his touchdown celebration decisions over on the St. Brown Podcast.
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