Giants vs. Bengals prediction: Sunday Night Football picks, odds

The Bengals’ odds of reaching the postseason took another hit last week with their overtime home loss to the Ravens. According to TeamRankings, Cincinnati has been the unluckiest team this season. Though we would like to think that luck is something that tends to even out over a season, the Bengals just continue to find new ways to lose ballgames. They will try again to get back in the win column Sunday night when they face the Giants at MetLife Stadium.Though the Bengals should be better than their 1-4 record, bettors should opt for a different approach instead of rushing to lay 3.5 points on the road. Given the fine margins between winning and losing in the NFL, the Bengals’ coaching staff can’t continue their history of mismanaging games. In Joe Burrow’s second season in 2021, coach Zac Taylor expressed his regret for taking the ball out of his quarterback’s hands following an overtime loss to the 49ers.

With the game tied at 20, Cincinnati won the coin toss and elected to receive.Burrow completed two passes to move the Bengals to the 49ers’ 26-yard line. Nevertheless, instead of allowing his quarterback to continue to sling the ball, Taylor waited until third down to finally call a passing play.

Burrow got sacked and the Bengals settled for a field goal, allowing the 49ers a chance to tie or win the game with a touchdown. We saw a similar scenario play out last week, when Baltimore’s Lamar Jackson fumbled in overtime.Cincinnati recovered the ball in Ravens territory on the 38-yard line and ran the ball three times, picking up just 3 yards and settling for a 53-yard field goal. This time, Bengals kicker Evan McPherson missed wide, and Baltimore needed just one play to get to Cincinnati’s 6-yard line thanks to a Derrick Henry 51-yard run. In summary, Taylor’s reluctance to trust his franchise quarterback is why the Bengals are in a fight for their playoff lives just five games into the season. It was nothing but doom and gloom followi...