Sunday Night Football betting preview: Best bet for Baltimore Ravens vs. Cincinnati Bengals

This week’s Sunday Night Football matchup figures to have a strong impact on the AFC North race.

Both the Baltimore Ravens and Cincinnati Bengals are 2-2 through the opening month, but a win tonight could go a long way in determining which team will capture a division crown. The Ravens, who were the preseason favorite to win the AFC North, are a 3-point favorite as of Sunday morning at Caesars Sportsbook.

Earlier this week, I recommended taking the Bengals’ spread in this road matchup against their division rival. That remains my favorite bet for this game, but I do owe readers another play as we get closer to kickoff.

As a result, I would suggest taking the Ravens to race out to a fast start by betting their first-quarter spread of -0.5 (+115) for tonight’s showdown.

Full disclosure, I wanted to take the Ravens’ first-half spread when I sat down to do this write-up. According to this tweet from Action Network, Lamar Jackson is 36-15-2 against the spread during the first half in his career. That means a $100 bettor would be up $1,894 if you have been riding with Jackson in the first half.

Caesars Sportsbook, the official odds partner of Bet Chicago Sports, has caught on and has the Ravens as a 2.5-point favorite in the first half. That is too close to the full-game spread for my liking, but I still don’t mind the play if you can find a better number elsewhere.

That said, I do like the first-quarter line for a lot of the same reasons. The Ravens were throttled by the Bengals in their two meetings last year, losing 41-17 at home in Week 7 and suffering a 41-21 defeat in Week 16. The Ravens should certainly be motivated to get up for this one.

In addition, this is a rare primetime game in Baltimore and that atmosphere will be electric to start. They will likely wear those black jerseys and players will come out to Omar’s whistle from The Wire, so it would be surprising if the Ravens don’t come out with a little bit of extra juice.

The Ravens are 2-2 and have trailed for a total of 14 seconds in their two losses this season. They have really faltered down the stretch against two good teams (Bills and Dolphins), both of which have taken place at home.

I know I’m playing with fire a bit by playing two unrelated plays, but I do think there is an argument to bet on the home team at the start and come back on the visitors down the stretch. Either way, let’s hope for an entertaining matchup between two division rivals on Sunday Night Football.

Kickoff is slated for 7:20 p.m. and will be televised on NBC.

Pick: Ravens -0.5 1Q (+115)