Washington Football Team vs Cincinnati Bengals 8/20/21 NFL Picks, Odds, Predictions

The Washington Football Team and the Cincinnati Bengals meet in NFL week 2 preseason action from FedEx Field in Washington on Friday. The Bengals come into this one looking to keep the good vibes going after kicking off the preseason with a 19-14 win over Tampa Bay, while the Washington Football Team is trying to rebound from a 22-13 preseason loss to New England.

In their last outing, Cincinnati Bengals’ Kyle Shurmur threw for 108 yards and a pick on 12 of 19 passing while Brandon Allen threw for 77 yards on 7 of 10 through the air with an INT as well. Jacques Patrick led the running backs with 15 carries for 71 yards while Chris Evans had 12 carries for 26 yards and a TD. Trenton Irwin led the Bengals’ receivers with 35 receiving yards while the aforementioned Evans had a team-high 4 catches for 33 yards and Mike Thomas had 32 receiving yards in the win. Defensively, Kavon Frazier, Trayvon Henderson, Akeem Davis-Gaither and Markus Bailey all had a team-high 4 tackles with Frazier putting up 3 solo tackles while Darius Hodge had 1.5 sacks and Joseph Ossai and Cam Sample each had a sack apiece. Frazier and Henderson each recorded an interception as well for the Bengals D in the victory.

In the Washington Football Team’s loss to the Pats, Steven Montez threw for 108 yards, a touchdown and an interception on 17 of 24 passing while Taylor Heinicke threw for 86 yards on 9 of 15 and Ryan Fitzpatrick completed 5 of 8 passes for 58 yards in his first game in a Washington uniform. Jaret Patterson led Washington’s backfield with 40 rushing yards while Peyton Barber had 20 rushing yards and a score. Patterson also led all receivers with 4 catches for 30 yards while Terry McLaurin and Sammie Reyes each had 25 receiving yards and Jonathan Williams added 4 receptions of his own in the loss. Justin Phillips led WFT with 5 total tackles including 4 solo tackles while Darrick Forrest had 4 solo tackles of his own. Bunmi Rotimi and David Bada combined for Washington’s lone sack of the contest.

Cincinnati is 2-5 ATS in their last 7 games on grass while the under is 12-4-2 in their last 18 games as a road underdog. Washington is 6-2 ATS in their last 8 games overall and 1-5 ATS in their last 6 games as a favorite while the under is 6-1 in their last 7 home games. The underdog is 4-1 ATS in the last 5 meetings between these two teams.

I get the case that could be made for Washington at home, but I just liked what I saw from Cincinnati and their backups in week 1. I don’t like the backups under center for the WFT, and the defense will be just fine, it’s those spots that need to be worked out. All in all I think this is a Washington win by a field goal at most if they win it, so give me the Bengals and the points here.