Cincinnati Bengals vs. Oakland Raiders Betting Odds, Analysis, NFL Pick

The Cincinnati Bengals will try to turn around a negative betting trend when they visit the Oakland Raiders Sunday in their season opener. The Bengals are 1-6 against the spread in their past seven games as road favorites, losing four of them straight up, and hope to repeat last year’s early-season success when they got off to a 3-0 start.

Point spread: The Bengals opened as three-point favorites; the total was 44.5 early in the week, according to sportsbooks monitored by Odds Shark (line updates and matchup report).

NFL pick, via Odds Shark computer: 24.3-19.8 Bengals

Why the Bengals can cover the spread

Cincinnati’s problems in the postseason are well-documented, as the team has not won a playoff game since 1990. But the Bengals have still enjoyed a reasonable amount of regular-season success under head coach Marvin Lewis, finishing among the top two teams in the AFC North in four of the past six years.

They upset the Baltimore Ravens 23-16 as one-point road underdogs in Week 1 last season en route to winning their first three games before getting crushed by the New England Patriots away from home in Week 5 following their bye.

Cincinnati remains a solid road team, though, and swept three games in successive weeks in November at New Orleans, at Houston and at Tampa Bay. The Bengals are also 5-1 SU and ATS in their last six September games.

Why the Raiders can cover the spread

Oakland got off to a brutal 0-10 start last year, but the team was able to split its final six games both SU and ATS to finish at 3-13.

The Raiders have a new head coach in Jack Del Rio, the former defensive coordinator of the Denver Broncos who also led the Jacksonville Jaguars for nearly nine seasons. Del Rio got the lowly Jaguars to the postseason twice during his tenure there and made it to the Super Bowl with the Broncos, so he seems to be the perfect man for the job in Oakland.

The problem is the Raiders lack top-tier talent, although they have put some offensive pieces together recently in the NFL draft by taking quarterback Derek Carr and wide receiver Amari Cooper with their past two first-round draft picks. Carr progressed nicely as a rookie and should be even better with a top target such as Cooper to throw the ball to this year.

Smart pick

You might be able to make a case for backing Oakland to cover if the number was closer to a touchdown. But since it’s just a field goal, Cincinnati becomes a much better option. The Bengals beat a much better Ravens team on the road in last year’s season opener, and they simply cannot afford to lose a game like this.

They are 6-2 ATS in the past eight meetings and routed the Raiders 34-10 the last time they played in 2013. While it may not be a similar beatdown, look for Cincy to win by at least double digits.

Betting trends

The total has gone under in six of the Bengals' last seven games against the Raiders.

The Bengals are 5-1 SU and ATS in their last six games in September.

The Raiders are 2-10 SU in their last 12 games as home underdogs in September.

All point spread and lines data courtesy of Odds Shark, all quotes gathered firsthand unless otherwise noted. Check out Twitter for injury and line movement updates and get the free odds tracker app.