San Diego Chargers vs. Cincinnati Bengals Betting Odds, Analysis, NFL Pick

The San Diego Chargers and Cincinnati Bengals each earned season-opening wins on the West Coast in Week 1 and will meet for the first time since the former upset the latter in the 2014 playoffs as 6.5-point road underdogs. The Chargers won that postseason matchup 27-10 to snap a three-game losing streak against the Bengals both straight-up and against the spread.

Point spread: Bengals opened as three-point favorites; the total was 45.5 early in the week, according to sportsbooks monitored by Odds Shark. (Line updates and matchup report)

NFL pick, via Odds Shark computer: 26.8-20.6 Bengals

Why the Chargers can cover the spread

San Diego has enjoyed a lot of success as a road underdog over the past few years, going 12-4-1 ATS in the last 17 games under that scenario. Nine of those resulted in SU wins, including the playoff victory at Cincinnati two seasons ago.

Some West Coast teams tend to struggle when travelling cross country to play early games, but not the Chargers. They seem to thrive in that situation, and their record speaks for itself. San Diego is also coming off an impressive 33-28 home win over the Detroit Lions last week that saw wide receiver Keenan Allen re-establish his chemistry with quarterback Philip Rivers to the tune of a career-high 15 catches for 166 yards.

Why the Bengals can cover the spread

The Bengals will no doubt be playing with revenge here knowing how much that postseason loss to the Chargers stung at home. They are a much better team offensively and more balanced since the last meeting as well with a pair of versatile running backs in Jeremy Hill and Giovani Bernard, who complement each other well.

That means Cincinnati quarterback Andy Dalton will not have the same kind of pressure on him here, as he was terrible in the playoff game, with three turnovers, including two interceptions and a fumble. Dalton played under control last week in the team’s season-opening 33-13 victory against the Oakland Raiders on the road, but it definitely helped that Hill and Bernard combined for 126 yards on 27 carries and scored two touchdowns.

Smart pick

Both teams looked good in Week 1, and you can argue that San Diego had the better win against a much better opponent in Detroit. But the Bengals also took care of business on the road versus inferior competition and dominated Oakland, which is sometimes tougher because motivation can be an issue. Motivation will be the driving force for them this time, so expect the home team to win by at least a touchdown.

Betting trends

The Bengals are 5-1 ATS in their last six games against the Chargers.

The Chargers are 5-0-1 ATS in their last six games on the road in September.

The total has gone under in five of the Chargers' last seven games against the AFC North.

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