Monday Night Football Open Thread: Commanders-Bengals & Jaguars-Bills

I don’t know about you, but I’m kind of tired of football by this point for the week. That 49ers loss still leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Nevertheless we have two football games tonight playing almost simultaniously. The Buffalo Bills host the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Cincinnati Bengals host the Washington Commanders.

Which one will you watch? I have odds for both if that helps.

Commanders-Bengals

The Bengals are not having a good season. They faced a controversial call last week when playing Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs (surprise, surprise) and are now trying to notch their first win of the season.

Meanwhile the Commanders’ one win came against the New York Giants. The Giants are not good this year and somehow the Commanders were able to only win by three points. It’s rich for me to say this since the Rams aren’t good this year either and we know how the 49ers did.

Regardless, the Commanders and Bengals is a game that will have the Commanders trying to keep pace with their division and the Bengals trying to not go 0-3. FanDuel Sportsbook has the Bengals favored by 7.5 points. I’m taking the Commanders and the points in this. While the Bengals may have gotten hosed last week, Joe Burrow has been hit or miss the last two weeks. I do see the Bengals winning this, but I also think it will be rather close—or—a garbage time touchdown in the end to get it within six. The over of 46.5 seems like a good bet as well here.

Jaguars-Bills

Before you say, “gosh, the Dolphins beat them,” in reference to the Jaguars, remember that was a Dolphins team that had all their weapons and their starting quarterback. What you really want to look at is the following week’s loss to the Cleveland Browns 18-13. The Browns have their own issues and distractions and wound up losing to the New York Giants Sunday. The Browns have returned to being the Browns and the Jaguars couldn’t beat them.

It’s put-up or shut-up time for Trevor Lawrence. He was once seen as a can’t-miss, generational prospect and now is the only quarterback from the 2021 draft still with his original team.

Meanwhile, the Bills were surprised by the Arizona Cardinals in Week 1, but manged a win. In Week 2, they knocked Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa out of the game early with a nasty concussion (that was not anyone’s direct fault-mind you) to beat the Dolphins.

Both games have brought some questions—and answers. The Cardinals have some excellent firepower at their disposal, which explains the defensive issues in Week 1. The Week 2 win just showed them taking care of business—but addressing the defensive issues (Tagovailoa wasn’t looking too hot before he was removed from the game).

FanDuel Sportsbook has the Bills favored by 4.5 points. Take the Jaguars and the points, but expect a Bills win. The Jaguars have some serious issues, but have managed to keep their games close and within five points. Given they are at home, I think this can be a close game. Betting the under of 46.5 points is a good move also. I don’t think we’re going to see much in terms of big scoring for this one.

Which game has your attention?