The Cincinnati Bengals entered the season as the favorites to win the AFC North for the third season in a row. While there was some concern about Joe Burrow’s calf injury, he was never expected to miss any games, so their AFC North odds were largely unaffected at the time.
But in the Bengals’ season opener, they got dominated by the Cleveland Browns, losing 24-3. Their offense was especially dreadful, putting up just 142 total yards, including only 82 yards passing from Burrow.
It’s just one game, however, and despite their 0-2 start last season, Cincinnati still finished with a 12-4 record and won the division. It’s far too early to write off the Bengals, and it shouldn’t take long for Burrow to shake off the rust after missing the entire preseason. But there has already been a shakeup in the AFC North odds following the Week 1 action. Let’s take a look.
AFC North Odds
The Bengals were +140 favorites to win the AFC North going into this past Sunday. After last Sunday’s loss, they’re no longer the betting favorite, and they now have the third-shortest odds in the division at +245 at DraftKings Sportsbook — a pretty notable adjustment after one loss.
Now that the Bengals aren’t the AFC North favorites, who would that be?
If your guess was either the Baltimore Ravens or Cleveland Browns, you’re correct. They’re now the co-favorites at DraftKings Sportsbook, at +200 odds apiece. This is despite the Ravens losing J.K. Dobbins for the season, as well as injuries to key players such as Marcus Williams, Ronnie Stanley, and Tyler Linderbaum.
For the Browns, this is a major shift after they were previously third in odds at +400. The biggest question mark for Cleveland heading into the season was Deshaun Watson, who didn’t play particularly well by any means in their Week 1 win. But the team’s running game, led by Nick Chubb, combined with their new-and-improved defense, could carry the Browns to their first division title since before they re-joined the NFL as an expansion team in 1999.
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The road to an AFC North title is certainly more challenging for the Bengals than it was over the last two seasons, as the Ravens and Browns are legitimate threats (and it’s still too early to write off the Pittsburgh Steelers). But these odds adjustments might be a bit of an overreaction.