Bengals Rams Betting – Bengals Look To Keep Playoff Hopes Alive Against Rams

After a strong start to the 2011 NFL season, the Cincinnati Bengals have begun to fall apart with four losses through their past five games, leaving them on the outside looking in for the AFC Wild Card race heading in to this Sunday’s game against the St. Louis Rams. To be fair, the schedule hasn’t exactly been kind to the Bengals in recent weeks, with all four of their losses coming against teams that lead their respective division in the AFC, including a combined three against the Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens in the AFC North division as definite underdogs according to the sports betting odds.

Cincinnati Bengals @ St. Louis Rams

The Rams aren’t nearly as dangerous as the Steelers or Ravens, although they are one of just three teams that beat the New Orleans Saints this season. Injuries and inconsistent play on both sides of the ball have prevented St. Louis from reaching its potential, and a fifth straight loss this week could lead to head coach Steve Spagnuolo getting the axe.

Bengals Rams Betting Preview: Cincinnati Bengals

While rookie quarterback Andy Dalton has done a lot of things right this year, he still hasn’t been able to take his team on his back and win a game with his arm, something that has kept his stock as a potential NFL Rookie of the Year down. No disrespect to Houston Texans’ rookie TJ Yates, but it was supposed to be Dalton that put up the 300 yards and two touchdowns in a win last week, not Yates, who outperformed him as one of the biggest reasons for his team’s win. Dalton on the other hand threw for just 189 yards and a touchdown, not nearly good enough against top teams. Running back Cedric Benson continues to pound the rock and open up space for Dalton to operate, and now is the time to open things up and air it out to talented receivers such as AJ Green and Jerome Simpson.

Bengals Rams Betting Preview: St. Louis Rams

There is no denying that injuries have played a big role in the Rams’ lack of success this season, but part of it is the team’s inability to consistently take care of the pure fundamentals, like the ability to square up and tackle on defense or block along the offensive line. The fact that Seattle Seahawks’ running back Marshawn Lynch was able to break as many tackles as he did in a 30-13 St. Louis loss on Monday Night Football is as much a testament to the Rams’ poor defensive play as it was Lynch’s ability. Quarterback Sam Bradford threw for just 193 yards in the loss with an interception.

Bengals Rams Betting Preview: Outlook & Pick

Neither of these two teams are on the right track, but the Bengals have a lot more to fight for with just one game between them and an AFC Wild Card spot. Cincinnati will lay it all on the line this week, and if they cannot cover the spread listed on the sportsbook sites, then it could mean joining the Rams on the list of teams that will not contend in this year’s playoffs.