NFL Betting: Cincinnati Bengals vs Jacksonville Jaguars Odds, Preseason Analysis

The winless Jacksonville Jaguars will try to earn their first victory of the preseason at home Sunday night when they host the 1-1 Cincinnati Bengals as 1.5-point betting favorites at sportsbooks monitored by Odds Shark.

The Jaguars were hyped a lot in the offseason and are expected to be much improved in 2016, but they will still need to prove it on the field and can make an early statement here on national television.

Jacksonville has lost each of its first two preseason games by less than a touchdown, falling to the New York Jets 17-13 in their opener as a three-point road underdog and then to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 27-21 as a three-point home favorite last Saturday.

One positive for the Jaguars so far has been fast starts by the offense after scoring only 35 first-quarter points last season. They have scored 17 points in the first quarter through the first two preseason games, something bettors should keep in mind for the future.

Meanwhile, the Bengals have been a solid playoff contender over the past five years, but they have unraveled in the postseason in losing during the wild-card round each time during that stretch.

In 2016, they hope to finally get over the hump and make a playoff run while avoiding any significant injuries. Cincinnati opened the preseason by losing 17-16 to the Minnesota Vikings in a pick ’em game at home before routing the Detroit Lions 30-14 on the road in an identical situation last Thursday.

Quarterbacks Andy Dalton and AJ McCarron both played well for Cincy against the Vikings, combining to complete 15 of 21 passes for 157 yards with one touchdown.

These teams have not met recently in the preseason and have squared off only four times over the last decade, with the Bengals going 4-0 straight up and 3-0-1 against the spread, according to the Odds Shark NFL Database.

The most recent meeting saw Cincinnati win 33-23 as 10-point home chalk on November 2, 2014. That was the second season for Jacksonville head coach Gus Bradley and the first for quarterback Blake Bortles, who was selected third overall in the NFL draft by the team that year.