Week 8: Cincinnati Bengals at Seattle Seahawks

CINCINNATI BENGALS @ SEATTLE SEAHAWKS
Vegas Line: Seahawks + 2

Rob’s Line: Seahawks + 2.5

As I wrote when previewing this week’s Browns/49ers matchup, the Seahawks were unfortunate participants in the worst game of the season so far when they left Cleveland last Sunday on the wrong end of a 6-3 score. It was ugly on many levels and that includes the officials calling back an 81 yard punt return for a touchdown from Leon Washington in the third quarter that would’ve given Seattle the lead and, more than likely, the win and that one play has affected how I see the spread for this one.

Had the ‘Hawks won and been 3-3, this spread would’ve swung three points the other way and I would be offering Cincinnati half a point. Two consecutive road wins would’ve had Seattle on a roll and at home they’re a very different animal (the win over the Giants in NY was a major shock) and, apart from the elite teams out there, they’re capable of running very close and/or beating the majority of teams in the NFL when playing in the Pacific North West.
This matchup, while not the most alluring on the Week 8 schedule, does pitch Cincinnati’s No. 2 ranked ‘Uso Defense’ against Seattle’s league-worst offense. When quarterback Tarvaris Jackson went down in New York three weeks ago, Charlie Whitehurst came off the bench and did a fantastic job of holding the offense together and helped steer the ‘Hawks to victory; last week in Cleveland, with Jackson still ruled out, Whitehurst looked terrible. One mitigating circumstance is that he was up against an outstanding Browns secondary, led by Joe Haden and T. J. Ward and it’s a defense to be respected. Jackson’s taken snaps in practice this week, but Whitehurst still looks likely to get the start.
Running back Marshawn Lynch pulled out of last week’s contest after injuring himself in pregame warmups and while Washington had a very healthy 5.6 yards per carry in Lynch’s absence, he only carried the ball seven times. Lynch is a power back and his presence would be a welcome boost against Cincinnati’s 5th ranked run defense; he’s listed as probable and this observer is hoping he starts.
Seattle ranks 11th against the run and with Bengals’ running back Cedric Benson serving a league enforced one game suspension, it means Bernard Scott will carry the load, not a prosepect Cincy will necessarily be relishing and it’s difficult to envisage Scott getting anywhere near 100 yards, meaning there could be a bout of ‘rookie watch’ going on as our attention focuses on quarterback Andy Dalton and wide receiver A. J. Green.
Before I comment on that, it does need to be noted that, as low ranked as Seattle is on offense, the Bengals rank only 20th and 21st when passing and running the ball respectively so this could be another low scoring affair featuring the Seahawks.
Back to those Cincinnati rookies. Green leads the team in receptions (29) and yards (453) and is coming as advertised before the Bengals drafted him fourth overall this year and he and Dalton are going to be the faces of this franchise for at least the next three years (before the possibility of free agency) and Cincinnati needs to be applauded for drafting well, not something they’ve been noted for down the years.
Aside from Green, Dalton has good options when passing, including receivers Jerome Simpson and Andre Caldwell and tight end Jermaine Gresham and both Simpson and Gresham have been thrown to almost as much as Green has and this aspect of the Bengals’ offense looks to be the dominating factor when determining the outcome.
In what should be a close game, Seatlle’s famous ’12th Man’ crowd will do all they can to disrupt Dalton and it’s unlikely he’s ever encountered an atmosphere like it and it’s something I’m going to take into consideration here. Taking into account that that one bad call from the officials last week has pushed this line to favour Cincinnati, I’m going to look past that and like Seattle with the points on offer.