We don’t know why it’s happening, but we don’t hear anyone complaining about a doubleheader on Monday as it gives us another opportunity to win some money with our NFL best bets for Commanders vs. Bengals MNF. We’ve got an 8:15 PM ET kickoff for the Cincinnati Bengals and Washington Commanders and we are ready to start diving into our NFL predictions. 

 

 

 

It’s always important to check in with the Vegas odds & lines to track any potential movement and also check in with any relevant historical data before making our NFL picks, so once we do that, we’ll be ready with our NFL best bets for Commanders vs. Bengals MNF.

NFL Picks, Predictions & Best Bets for Monday Night Football, 9/23

There is never enough recent data for out-of-conference matchups and this game is no different. The Bengals are 3-1-1 against the Commanders over their last five, but these teams haven’t played each other since 2020. Washington’s coaching staff is completely different, Terry McLaurin might be the only holdover from back then and you know what…? They weren’t even called the Commanders in 2020.

Looking at some more recent against-the-spread numbers, the Bengals are 0-2 straight-up, but after last week’s nailbiter against the Chiefs, they are 1-1 against the spread this season. Meanwhile, the Commanders are 1-1 this season, both straight-up and against the spread. 

We could say the Commanders are 0-1 ATS as an underdog but guess what…the Bengals are 0-1 as a favorite, so even the recent data isn’t helping. If we want to put together some successful NFL predictions, then we need to dive into the match-up and potential game flow before we lock in our NFL best bets for Commanders vs. Bengals MNF.

 

 

 

Monday Night Football Prediction: Monday, September 23rd 

This game is coming down to quarterback play, plain and simple. The Commanders defense ranks last in the league, according to DVOA, and the Bengals rank right in the middle. The advantage here tilts towards Cincinnati, but it’s so much more than that. 

Zac Taylor runs his west coast offense in such a way that the pass sets up the run and given the fact that Joe Burrow has Ja'Marr Chase and is getting back Tee Higgins this week, you have to be bullish on Cincinnati. The Commanders are allowing 227.5 passing yards per game, but more importantly, they’ve already allowed six touchdowns through the air. 

Expect a heavy aerial assault by the Bengals and should they grab that early lead, you can expect them to lean heavily on Zack Moss to close things out. But we certainly don’t want to count out Jayden Daniels and the Commanders as the Bengals defense hasn’t performed like some dominant force. The Commanders need to attack early and often with the run, despite the fact that offensive coordinator Kiff Kingsbury likes to run a pass-heavy scheme. 

The Bengals have allowed the seventh-most rushing yards per game (159.5) and are being ripped for 4.5 yards per carry. Between Daniels, Brian Robinson Jr and even Austin Ekeler, attacking with the running game feels like a good place to start. If the Commanders can get the ground game working, then maybe we see Daniels turn around his passing work. We’ve been waiting for him to connect with Terry McLaurin, but like many of these young, mobile quarterbacks, the passing accuracy is missing. 

Daniels is going to need to move the chains downfield using the likes of Zack Ertz and even Luke McCaffrey and allow things to open up further downfield for McLaurin. Of course, we could be throwing out some wishing dust there, something we never want to get involved with when setting up our NFL best bets for Commanders vs. Bengals MNF.

 

 

 

Commanders vs. Bengals Best Bet: Monday, September 23rd  

Now that you’ve read our NFL predictions regarding what each team needs to do to be successful, you probably have a good idea of what we’re thinking for our NFL picks against the spread. After two-straight losses to open the season, this game feels like a get-right game for the Bengals. 

Just the idea of watching Chase burn Benjamin St-Juste like he’s a piece of toast is enough for me and once the Bengals jump out to a lead, it’s going to be very difficult for the Commanders to get back into the game. Not gonna say I don’t fear the backdoor cover, but in this case… I’m betting against it.

Based on what I was saying above with regard to the point spread for my NFL best bets for Commanders vs. Bengals MNF above and the expected game flow, I don’t anticipate a very competitive game. When it feels as lopsided as I think this one might be, I typically avoid the over. 

While I love the Bengals in this one, are they putting up 40 points on their own? Probably not. I see them grabbing a lead and then leaning on Zack Moss to close things out. 31-14? Maybe. Either way, it’s under. 

 

 

 

Best NFL Player Prop Bets & Other Picks Today, 9/23

**Please check back for more and/or different props as lines are still being posted as of writing this.

 

 

 

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You’ve got to love this second bite of the apple on Monday night; another opportunity for your NFL picks and NFL predictions in Week 3 to pay off and win you some money. And what better way than tailing our NFL best bets for Commanders vs. Bengals MNF? 

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