Both sides of this one carry the looking-ahead flag on our Week 2 sheet, which almost never happens to two teams in the same game. Then there is the number: Houston is laying only 2.5 with a total of 46 when Cincinnati visits Sunday, September 20 at 1:00 PM ET in Houston, TX. Sean Green and Ryan Kramer worked through it on the NFL Picks Week 2 episode and came out on the same side.
Bengals vs Texans Odds
The Texans are 2.5-point home favorites, so the Bengals are getting 2.5. The total is 46.
Our Picks
- Ryan Kramer (@KramerCentric): CIN +2.5
- Sean Green (@SeanTGreen): CIN +2.5
The segment opened on Joe Burrow’s back, or his shoulder, depending on the day. Burrow’s own position is that it is nothing worth discussing, and Sean expects it to affect him mildly at most. Ryan went further in the other direction: Burrow gets visibly annoyed by the what-is-wrong-with-you questions, and that tends to sharpen him rather than slow him down.
Neither team came out of Week 1 looking like a team you want to bet. The guys read the Cincinnati win as a bit hollow, since the defense generated easy turnovers and a touchdown while the offense sat in soft spots, and the box score backs that up. Burrow also threw a pick-six to a rookie. Houston’s quarterback played well, but Ryan thought the defense effectively lost that game, and he wants to watch the Bengals offensive line prove itself against pass rushers of normal reach before he buys in. On the Houston side, both guys treated Nico Collins and his hamstring as the real injury story, with Sean saying there is a genuine chance he does not play, which would gut that offense.
Sean’s numbers pointed at Cincinnati. He cited Burrow at 19-4 ATS when his team closes as a dog of three or more, and Houston’s head coach at 0-7 ATS in the first two weeks of a season, though he was fair about the other side of it: that same coach has been good getting his team up off a loss, and an 0-2 start with two home losses would make the Texans a desperate team in a hurry.
Ryan called the game a true toss-up until the price settled it. Two and a half is telling you something, and his rule is that you take the 2.5 and you never buy it. He also likes the Cincinnati back the team pivoted to in the offseason to have a nice afternoon here. Their read of the market fit the pick too, with the public side leaning Houston while the sharper money showed up on the Bengals.
Hear the full breakdown on the NFL Picks Week 2 episode, or listen on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Watch every game on YouTube, and download the SGPN app at sg.pn/links. See all our NFL Picks.
