Bengals odds: Can Joe Burrow and Co. avoid a slow start to snap two-year playoff drought?
Cincinnati is giving key players preseason snaps in an attempt to avoid yet another sluggish start to the season
The Cincinnati Bengals enter the 2025 season coming off back-to-back 9-8 seasons that ended with disappointment, as the team failed to make the expanded playoff field each time. Despite Joe Burrow leading the NFL in passing yards and Ja'Marr Chase capturing the receiving Triple Crown with receptions, yards and touchdowns, the Bengals were unable to make up for their lackluster defense and a slow start to the season. In response, head coach Zac Taylor decided to give his starters a few series in the first week of the 2025 NFL preseason against the Eagles.
Burrow finished 9-of-10 for 123 yards and two touchdowns, while Chase had 77 yards and a score in Cincinnati's first two possessions. Those two appear to be right on track to pick up where they left off a year ago and top sportsbooks have player futures odds reflecting that sentiment. Burrow is a +500 favorite to lead the league in passing yards at DraftKings, while Chase is a +600 favorite to lead the league in receiving yards and +600 to lead the league in receiving touchdowns. Bet Burrow, Chase and NFL futures at DraftKings here:
However, the Bengals still gave up 34 points to Philadelphia and did not make substantial improvements to a defense which ranked 25th in yards allowed per game and 25th in points allowed per game. Cincinnati went 4-4 in games where it scored 30+ points and 4-7 in games decided by one possession, numbers which you'd think would see positive regression. The Bengals are unlikely to be much better defensively in 2025, so Burrow and company are set to do some heavy lifting again.
The Bengals have generally started slow in every season with Burrow at the helm. They were 1-5-1 in 2020, 2-3 in 2022, 2-3 in 2023 and 1-4 in 2024. The one season they did start well, 2021, they ended up going to the Super Bowl. Perhaps Taylor is trying to channel that magic again by giving his starters early snaps in otherwise meaningless games. Cincinnati is +2200 at FanDuel to win the Super Bowl, +1100 to win the AFC and -144 to make the playoffs. Sign up for FanDuel to bet Bengals futures and other NFL markets here:
It's possible the Bengals would start fast this season even if their starters didn't get preseason reps. Cincinnati opens the year with the Browns and Jaguars, two teams who combined to go 7-27 a year ago. The next five games are substantially more challenging with the Vikings, Broncos, Lions, Packers and Steelers but the Bengals should expect to be in all those contests given their offensive firepower. They've got the Jets and Bears before the bye week and if they can avoid going 0-5 against the tougher opponents, they'll be above .500 at the bye. That's only happened twice in Burrow's first five seasons, though the Bengals were 3-3 at the bye in 2023.
