‘Thursday Night Football’ Betting Preview: Cincinnati Bengals at Baltimore Ravens

Last season, Thursday Night Football featured matchups like the Jacksonville Jaguars at New Orleans Saints, the Carolina Panthers at Chicago Bears, the Los Angeles Chargers at Las Vegas Raiders, and the season-ending game between the New York Jets and Cleveland Browns.

Amazon Prime executives clearly had a conversation with the NFL this off-season, because the 2024 schedule has been much better. We’ve have the Buffalo Bills and Miami Dolphins, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Atlanta Falcons in overtime, the Minnesota Vikings at the Los Angeles Rams, and this week’s game featuring the Cincinnati Bengals at Baltimore Ravens.

Game Line: Ravens (-6)

This is the second meeting between these two division rivals, and if it is anything like the first, set your DVR. You’ll want to watch this game more than once.

When the two teams met in Cincinnati in Week 5, the Ravens won an overtime thriller, 41-38, and we had 962 yards of total offense. Joe Burrow threw for 392 yards and five touchdowns, while Lamar Jackson went for 348 and four touchdowns while rushing for another 55 yards.

We had at least two touchdowns scored in the second, third, and fourth quarters, and both teams averaged 6.8 yards per play. The Ravens have won each of the last three meetings between these two teams, but two of those were decided by a field goal.

Quarterback Proposition Bets

This is one of the best quarterback matchups of the season, with Lamar Jackson as the current MVP favorite, paying +280, and Joe Burrow seventh on the board at +1800. And if the Bengals had a better record, Burrow would be higher on the list. He has twice thrown for five touchdowns in a game this season, including last week, and his 70.2 completion percentage is the second-best of his career.

Burrow’s over/under is 273.5 passing yards on Thursday night, and he is -200 to go over 1.5 passing touchdowns. For Jackson, the over/under on passing yards is 233.5, and he is -125 to throw for at least two touchdowns. He’s crossed the two-touchdown threshold in each of his last three games.

As a runner, Jackson’s line is 50.5 rushing yards, and he is +160 to get into the end zone.

Running Back Proposition Bets

The Bengals picked up running back Khalil Herbert from the Chicago Bears at the trade deadline, but this is Chase Brown’s backfield. His over/under on rushing yards is 58.5, which is less than half of the 120 yards he rushed for on Sunday against the Las Vegas Raiders. One word of caution – he had a career-high 27 carries on Sunday, and he’s now back out there just four days later.

For the Ravens, it’s the Hall of Fame show from Derrick Henry, who has scored a touchdown in every game played this season. He ran for 106 yards on Sunday, his fifth game over 100 yards in 2024, and his over/under for Thursday is 89.5 rushing yards.

Henry is -265 to score a touchdown, and he is paying +360 to be the game’s first touchdown scorer. Brown is -120 to score a touchdown and +750 to get the first touchdown.

Pass Catcher Proposition Bets

We have red-hot quarterbacks, a pair of running backs coming off 100-yard games, and some of the best pass catchers in the NFL. The best of the bunch is Ja’Marr Chase, who has an over/under of 82.5 receiving yards. He hasn’t broken 55 yards in his last three games, but he has had games of 193, 118, and 85 this season. Chase also has seven touchdowns, and he is -125 to score on Thursday.

Tee Higgins remains injured, so look for another good game from tight end Mike Gesicki. His over/under is 52.5 receiving yards and he is +230 to score a touchdown. He has been targeted 14 times in the last two weeks without Higgins in the lineup, and he has 173 yards and two touchdowns. The other Bengals wide receiver to watch is Andrei Iosivas, who has a receiving yards line of 22.5. He hasn’t gone over that amount since Week 6.

Diontae Johnson came to the Ravens two weeks ago, but he has yet to make a catch with his new team. That is expected to change on Thursday, with his receiving lines set at 1.5 catches and 22.5 yards. He is +270 to score a touchdown.

Receiver Zay Flowers has come into his own in 2024, with four 100-yard games in his last five games played. On Sunday against a good Denver Broncos defense, Flowers had 127 yards and two touchdowns. His over/under on Thursday is 61.5 receiving yards, and he is paying +115 to score a touchdown. Tight end Mark Andrews is back to being Jackson’s primary red zone target, and he has four touchdowns in the last four weeks. He is +170 to score and the over/under on his receiving yards is 43.5.