Bengals Have Best Betting Value in NFL Ahead of Second Half of 2026 Season

While watching the Jacksonville Jaguars blow out the Baltimore Ravens on Thursday Night Football, I decided to take to social media with an opinion, and it wasn't exactly well-received.

The Jaguars and Bengals are the best teams in the NFL
— Iain MacMillan (@IainMacBets) November 6, 2026

Not many people had an issue with me claiming the Jaguars are an elite team, but I had plenty of replies that thought the idea of the Bengals being a top team in the league heading into the halfway point of the season was laughable.

Maybe I was being a bit hyperbolic with my post, and if you were to argue against me on that point, it's not an opinion I would stay tied to with any vigor. The opinion I would argue is that the Bengals have the best betting value in the futures market amongst all 32 NFL teams.

Let's take a look at where they sit in the odds at FanDuel Sportsbook ahead of their Week 9 game in Madrid against the Atlanta Falcons, and then I'll make my case for why you should be betting on them in some form or fashion.

Bengals NFL Odds Ahead of Week 9

To Win Super Bowl: +1600
To Win AFC: +700
To Win AFC North: -155
Win total: 11.5 (Over -125/Under +105)
To be No. 1 Seed: +700
To Make Playoffs: -700
Joe Burrow to Win NFL MVP: +450

The market is starting to give the Bengals some credit, but I still think there's an edge to be had. I like them to win the Super Bowl at +1600 and to win the AFC at +700, but perhaps my favorite bet on the board for them right now is for the Bengals to be the No. 1 seed in the AFC at the end of the season at +700.

Let's start with how the Bengals stack up with the rest of the league. Cincinnati enters Week 9 with one of the best offenses in the NFL, ranking fifth in EPA per play and second in success rate. If you change the EPA measurement to weighted EPA, which takes into consideration game situations, the Bengals move up to third in the league in that metric, behind only the Bills and the 49ers. If you take out the first three weeks, as we know that the Bengals are notoriously slow starters in the Zac Taylor era, the Bengals move up to second in weighted EPA and first in success rate from weeks 4-8.

If you've been watching the Bengals in any capacity in years past, you know that it's injuries and poor defensive play that have cost Cincinnati. This season, the Bengals may not have an elite defense, but they're still one of the best units that they've had since drafting Joe Burrow. They rank 11th in the NFL in weighted opponent EPA and 13th in opponent points per play.

That's good enough for a team that has Burrow leading their offense. The former Heisman Trophy winner is leading the league in virtually every single passing stat, including completion percentage (73%), yards per game (302.1), and passing touchdowns (20). He's climbing up the odds list to win his first career NFL MVP award and is quietly putting together one of the best quarterback performances in recent history.

If that isn't enough to convince you to invest in the Bengals, consider their remaining schedule, which is the driving point behind my liking them to be the No. 1 seed at 7-1. Heading into Week 9, the Bengals have the easiest remaining schedule in the NFL, and it's not even close.

After last week's game against the hapless Titans, the Bengals still have *checks notes* by far the easiest remaining schedule pic.twitter.com/WkNvC1wIjB
— Computer Cowboy (@benbbaldwin) November 5, 2026

Their toughest game the rest of the way is a matchup against Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs. Outside of that and their divisional games, they will meet the Colts, Saints, Commanders, Falcons, and Panthers. Not exactly a murderers' row.

With that kind of remaining schedule, while there is also only one team with fewer losses than them so far, it's easy to envision a scenario where the Bengals lose only one more game the rest of the way and finish at 13-3, likely enough to secure the conference's top spot.

People have cooled on Cincinnati since the Bengals' Super Bowl run a handful of years ago. If you've been waiting to get back in on them, now is the time to do it before the rest of the betting world catches up.

Be sure to shop around at the best sportsbooks in the country to find the best prices you can.

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