Cincinnati Bengals @ New York Jets Thanksgiving Pick & Preview

Cincinnati Bengals @ New York Jets Thanksgiving Pick & Preview: This could be my bonehead pick of the week, but it’s hard not to find some nice value in Cincinnati on the betting side of football. Numbers are a big part of the gambling game, and both of these teams have a lot of close games in their 2010 season history. Just look at the averages – the Bengals, despite being just 2-8, average just under 5 points less than their opponents. Lots of close games – last week’s game against Buffalo and Week 1 against New England – those are the only two games they’ve lost by more than 8 points all season long.

The Same can be said for the Jets – look at their averages. They only score 6 more points per game than their opponents, and they are 8-2 on the season. They’ve won each of their last 3 games in the final seconds. There were the great throws by Sanchez to beat the Texans by 3 late last week, and two overtime wins the previous two weeks. 6 of their 8 wins have been by less than 10 points.

Sure, the Bengals could come out and play like garbage after getting slaughtered by the Bills in the 2nd half of last week’s game where they had been up 28-7. They could. And the Jets could build off their tight wins and come out on fire. They could. But the truth is, the opposite will probably happen in both cases. The Jets should have lost – they won, that usually means they won’t play great the following week. After getting embarrassed, the Bengals will probably come out ready to prove themselves. They’ve had a lot of hard luck this season, but I think they have the talent to play with the Jets. Shoot, everyone does lately.

Cincinnati Bengals (+10) @ New York Jets