Bengals Big Betting Favorites Against Dolphins in Latest AFC Battle During 2026 Season

Cincinnati is back on the road this week.

Dec 21, 2025; Miami Gardens, Florida, USA; Cincinnati Bengals tight end Mike Gesicki (88) catches a touchdown over Miami Dolphins cornerback Jason Marshall Jr. (33) during the fourth quarter at Hard Rock Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Bengals are still pretty significant betting favorites this week despite a rocky 2-2 start to the season. DraftKings Sportsbook has Cincinnati sitting as -7 favorites as of this writing against the lowly Dolphins this week, with a point total set at 41.5.

The Bengals are now 2-2 straight up and against the spread after back-to-back losses in recent weeks. Meanwhile, Miami is 0-4 straight up and just 1-3 against the spread early in this season as arguably the worst team in the league.

Cincinnati cannot afford to lose this game and will likely do it shorthanded again in some form, especially in the secondary and wide receiver rooms.

"We just have to make it work, and for the most part, we did. I never felt like, 'Man, we can't do this because of who we have.' I don't feel that. That's why they're on our roster," Zac Taylor said about testing the wide receiver depth. "If you make our roster on offense, you've got something to you. Same with the defense we have right now.

"So anybody that walks on the field that's on our 53-player roster on game day, I got absolute faith that they can make some plays and win games. That's every single man we've got on this team. That's why they're here. This is the best team we've had in a while. And so I've got faith. Anybody we walk out on that field, we trust to be able to make a play."

Cincinnati's defense has been mostly strong for three of the four games, and the passing attack eclipsed 400 yards yesterday. Oddly, it was the rushing attack that halted the Bengals offense most often against Jacksonville.

The offensive stalling from both teams is a factor in the numbers changing from before the season. The Bengals were 5.5-point favorites in this Dolphins game entering Week 1, and the point total was set at 48.5. Two figures that've changed heavily in recent weeks.

Check out more on the odds here.

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

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