NFL Preseason 2012: Green Bay Packers vs. Cincinnati Bengals

The Green Bay Packers (0-2) travel to take on the Cincinnati Bengals (2-0) on Thursday night at Paul Brown Stadium, as they look to protect the football with just two preseason games remaining before their season opener against the San Francisco 49ers on Sept. 9.

Sports bettors may find it surprising that the Packers are currently three-point road favorites in the NFL betting odds (courtesy of SBR Forum), considering they’ve failed to cover their first two exhibition games by an average of 17.5 points.

Green Bay has turned the ball over eight times in setbacks to the Cleveland Browns (10-35) and San Diego Chargers (13-21) while also getting outgained by a 205-yard margin in those contests.

The Packers will be meeting the Bengals for the 17th time in preseason play, entering with a dismal 4-11-1 record, including a 20-17 setback in their last such meeting as three-point home favorites on Aug. 11, 2008.

Aaron Rodgers will try to regain his form from a year ago, which led to earning the NFL’s Most Valuable Player Award, but he’ll also be looking to get a new teammate involved in the running game.

Former Bengals running back Cedric Benson is expected to make his debut in a Packers uniform, as he looks to establish himself as the No. 1 option in the team’s backfield, with Alex Green (knee) and James Starks (toe) both being limited by injuries.

Cincinnati has won four straight against Green Bay in the preseason and regular season combined, which makes it an attractive home underdog due to covering the spread in its first two exhibition games against the Atlanta Falcons and New York Jets.

The Bengals will need to play much better defensively in this contest in order to pick up a victory, as they allowed 472 total yards in last week’s 24-19 road win over the Falcons as four-point road underdogs, including 391 through the air.

Fans should definitely expect a few points to be scored in this affair, considering the Packers have gone OVER the total in four straight preseason games in Week 3, while the Bengals have gone above the number in six of their last eight in that situation.

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