NFL Week 2 Thursday Night Football betting

by DS Williamson

Baltimore and Cincinnati battle each other in NFL Week 2 Thursday Night Football betting with something already on the line. Both the Ravens and Bengals are 1-0 this season, meaning that the winner takes the lead in the AFC North Division (Cleveland and Pittsburgh tied in Week 1). Two veteran quarterbacks, two veteran coaches, and two veteran defenses should make for a competitive game.

NFL WEEK 2 THURSDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL BETTING Baltimore Ravens at Cincinnati Bengals Thursday, September 13th – Paul Brown Stadium – 8:20pm ET Odds: BAL -1.0 (44)

Ravens Offense vs Bengals Defense Baltimore showed more spunk on offense in their 47-3 Week 1 victory over Buffalo than they had in any game last season. Joe Flacco played like it was 2013 again when completing 73.5% of his passes and throwing 3 TDs without an interception. Baltimore’s rushers got into the act as well by going off for 117 yards. Both Alex Collins and Kenneth Dixon scored rushing TDs.

Cincinnati’s defense must prepare for the balanced Ravens offense again without linebacker Vontaze Burfict. Serving the second of a 4-game suspension on Thursday, the Bengals didn’t miss Burfict in the beat down they placed on Indianapolis during a 34-23 Week 1 win. The Colts aren’t the Ravens, meaning the Bengals most definitely will miss Burfict’s pass rushing and run stopping abilities on Sept. 13.

Flacco and Baltimore’s offense have the advantage here.

Edge: Ravens

Bengals Offense vs Ravens Defense Nobody really knows how good the Ravens’ defense is because it shut down the worst offense in the NFL in Week 1. Buffalo can’t move the football because the O-line is a mess and neither of the Bills’ quarterbacks is ready to start. Any decent defense might have dominated the Bills the way Baltimore’s did.

We don’t really know how good the Bengals’ offense is, either. Cincinnati scored 34 points against a young and inexperienced Colts’ defense but 17 of those 34 points came in the 4^th quarter.

Tough to give the edge to either side here, but Baltimore’s defense wasn’t bad last season while Cincinnati’s offense was. We'll get more data as we move along through the season, but based on what we know after just a single week, I’m siding with the Ravens in this department.

Edge: Ravens

Ravens at Bengals Betting Analysis and ATS Prediction Cincinnati opened as a +3.0 home dog before bettors got involved and beat the Bengals down to a pick. Now, the public's going the other way with a huge following favoring Baltimore at PK odds over Cincy in NFL Week 2 Thursday Night Football betting.

The only trend that really stands out is Baltimore going 3-0-1 ATS in their last 4 Thursday night games because it shows that Ravens’ coach John Harbaugh is great at getting his fellas ready off a short week. The Ravens are 4-9 ATS in their last 13 road games against the Bengals.

Positive short week trends beat negative road trends no matter the matchup. Baltimore Ravens all the way.

NFL Week 2 Thursday Night Football Betting Free Pick: Baltimore Ravens -1.0 (UNDER)