October 22, 2024

Eagles-Bengals Week 8 odds preview: Birds are the underdogs going to Cincy

The Eagles and Bengals are both coming in with back-to-back wins (both over the Browns and Giants). Who keeps their momentum going?

By Nick Tricome
PhillyVoice Staff

Jeff Lange/USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Joe Burrow and the Bengals are fighting to keep up in the AFC North.

The Eagles have back-to-back wins over some bad teams (the Browns and then the Giants).

The Bengals also have back-to-back wins over some bad teams (the Giants and then the Browns).

They'll face one another this Sunday in Cincinnati, looking to keep pace in their respective division races amid what have so far been tumultuous 2024 seasons for both clubs.

It'll be a test for both, too, that only one can pass with their contending aspirations still relatively intact.

Right now, most sportsbooks have the Bengals at around a 2.5-point favorite over the Eagles approaching Week 8. Here's a look at the odds and money lines from a few...

Sportsbook	Spread	Money Line	Total O/U
DraftKings	CIN -2.5	PHI +124 CIN -148	47.5
FanDuel	CIN -2.5	PHI +128 CIN -152	47.5
BetRivers	CIN -2.5	PHI +120 CIN -148	47.5
BetMGM	CIN -2.5	PHI +130 CIN -155	47.5
Bally's	CIN -2.5	PHI +120 CIN -148	47.5

*Lines as of Tuesday

The Eagles and Bengals each have rosters built on star power, especially on offense, but both have been plagued by issues and inefficiencies through the season's first half.

The 4-2 Eagles, headlined by Jalen Hurts, A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith, and Saquon Barkley, have pulled off their fair share of big plays, but up until this past week's pretty thorough 28-3 romping of the Giants, what was supposed to be a high-powered offense hasn't operated all that smoothly unless Barkley or Brown are bailing them out just on sheer talent.

Much of the same can be said of the 3-4 Bengals with Joe Burrow, Ja'Marr Chase, and Tee Higgins. The talent is there, and they can say they have some momentum going now that they've taken two straight (albeit against some weak competition, much like the Eagles), but it just hasn't all flowed together as cohesively as Cincinnati would've hoped in their aim of keeping up with the AFC juggernauts like the Chiefs, Ravens or Bills. Heck, they're just trying to stay afloat in a competitive AFC North now that they're trailing the Steelers, too.

Both the Eagles and Bengals have also shown to be pretty exploitable in pass coverage if the defenses can't get to the quarterback up front. The Eagles, however, have been much better about that over the past couple of weeks with 13 combined sacks over their past two games (though again, against some considerably weak competition).

Barkley is coming off a massive 176-yard rushing performance against the Giants and will no doubt be a factor against the Bengals, and so will Hurts and Burrow when it comes to who can get the ball to their star receivers the fastest.

One of the immediate keys for the Eagles going in is to have their pass rush keep its foot on the gas and leave Burrow with next to no time to think. Otherwise, the secondary is going to have its hands full with Chase and Higgins once the ball is in the air.