Bengals vs. Chargers Final Score Prediction for Sunday Night Football in NFL Week 11

Iain MacMillan | 3 Hours Ago

Sep 13, 2020; Cincinnati, OH, USA; Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow (9) is pulled down by Los Angeles Chargers defensive tackle Jerry Tillery (99) in the first quarter of the NFL Week 1 game between the Cincinnati Bengals and the Los Angeles Chargers at Paul Brown Stadium in downtown Cincinnati on Sunday, Sept. 13, 2020. Mandatory Credit: Sam Greene/Cincinnati Enquirer-USA TODAY NETWORK / Cincinnati Enquirer-USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Content Services, LLC

The Week 11 edition of Sunday Night Football with feature an AFC showdown between the Cincinnati Bengals and Los Angeles Chargers.

The Chargers come into this week in the No. 6 spot in the AFC wild card picture and a win tonight will further boost their chances of locking up a postseason berth. Meanwhile, the Cincinnati Bengals can get back in the playoff picture with a victory. The Bengals are 4-6 on the year but enter Week 11 just one game back from the Denver Broncos (5-5) who currently hold the final playoff spot.

Let's dive into the latest odds for the game and then I'll predict the final score.

Bengals vs. Chargers Odds, Spread, and Total

Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook.

Spread

• Bengals +1.5 (-110)
• Chargers -1.5 (-110)

Moneyline

• Bengals +100
• Chargers -120

Total

• 48 (Over -112/Under -108)

The Chargers originally opened as 2.5-point favorites but it quickly was bet down to Chargers -1.5 which is where it's remained steady throughout the week. The total has skyrocketed from the opening number of 45 up to 48.

Bengals vs. Chargers Final Score Prediction

In this week's edition of the "Road to 272 Bets", I broke down why I'm backing the Bengals as underdogs on Sunday night:

The Chargers play an old-school style of football where they take care of the ball, play strong defense, and squeak out victories. That style will work against inferior opponents, but the fact they're 0-2 against teams who currently rank inside the top 10 in EPA per play speaks for itself. When they play a strong offense, they tend to get overpowered.

That's what I expect to happen in this one. The Bengals pass-attack is one of the best in the NFL and the Chargers may quickly find themselves in a negative game script, down early. If that happens, Los Angeles will have to abandon their usual style of play and try to play from behind, something they're not built to do.

I'll back the Bengals as slight road underdogs to keep their playoff hopes alive.

When it comes to the total, I'm going to bet on it to go OVER 48.0. As I wrote above, I think we're going to see regression from the Chargers defense now that they have to face one of the better offenses in the NFL. Furthermore, the Bengals defense isn't anything to write home about and will likely give the Chargers plenty of opportunities to put points on the board.

Final score prediction: Bengals 32, Chargers 24

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