The 2021-22 Cincinnati Bengals will likely go down as one of the most unlikely Super Bowl representatives we'll ever see, being that they opened the season at +6500 to win the AFC. They were one drive away from being a preseason +15000 Super Bowl champion, which may never happen again. Their postseason run was incredible — all four games were one-possession affairs, and their last three matchups were decided by three points each. However, despite a dynamic offense led by Joe Burro, Joe Mixon and Ja'Marr Chase, the Super Bowl hangover effect mi ght hinder Cincinnati for much of 2022.
The Bengals play four sets of back-to-back road games and they arguably have the most unfavorable end-of-season schedule from Week 12 onward. Six of their final eight games are against teams that made the playoffs last season, and the other two are against division rivals Cleveland and Baltimore, which made it in 2020. It's imperative that Burrow leads his team to a 6-3 or better record before the bye week or Cincinnati might be in serious danger of missing the postseason.
Caesars Sportsbook slightly favors the Over 9.5 wins (-125) considering the difficult end-of-season schedule, but it still presents a better bet than the team making the playoffs (-145). Considering that Pittsburgh is rebuilding at the quarterback position and Cleveland's future depends solely on Deshaun Watson's status (which is very murky), Cincinnati at +320 to win the AFC North presents the best value with Baltimore as the only other likely cho ice.
- More NFL futures:'SportsLine Projection Model's best bets
Below, you'll find the Cincinnati Bengals 2022 schedule, win total and more futures odds from Caesars Sportsbook, followed by picks from top SportsLine NFL analysts Larry Hartstein and R.J. White.