Bills Listed as 6-Point Favorites vs Bengals After First 2-0 Start Since 2014

• The Buffalo Bills will be looking to go 3-0 for the first time since 2011 when they host the Cincinnati Bengals as 6-point favorites in Week 3
• The Bills have emerged as the best team in New York state with consecutive wins over the Jets and Giants
• The Bengals arrive in Buffalo winless on the season after being demolished in a 41-17 loss to the San Francisco 49ers in their home opener last Sunday

The Buffalo Bills will be aiming to build on their best start in five years when they return home on Sunday to battle the struggling Cincinnati Bengals as 6-point home favorites at New Era Field.

After a consensus opening as 5.5 point favorites, you can see money has quickly come in on Buffalo in the Bengals vs Bills odds, pushing them up to that six point favorite.

Cincinnati Bengals vs Buffalo Bills Odds

*Odds taken 09/16/19

Bills Earn Label as Best Team in New York

The Bills hit home field for this season’s home opener after outpacing the New York Giants in a 28-14 victory on Sunday, and covering as narrow single point favorites.

With the win, Buffalo improves to 4-1 straight up and against the spread over the team’s past five regular-season contests, and extends a strong defensive trend, with the Bills surrendering just 16.8 points per game during that stretch.

Reporter: "You could have ended up in NY–"

Josh Allen: "I am in New York." #Bills pic.twitter.com/gna1JYHodJ

— Prescott Rossi (@PrescottRossi) September 15, 2019

Josh Allen has looked increasingly comfortable in his role as the Bills’ starting quarterback during the team’s fast start. The seventh overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft fumbled twice and tossed two interceptions in the Bills’ narrow 17-16 win over the New York Jets in Week 1, but avoided making any turnovers against the Giants, tossing for 253 yards and one score.

Buffalo Defense Opens Season Among Best in NFL

In addition, the Bills defense settled down after allowing New York to open the scoring on a 27-yard run by Saquon Barkley, coming up big with a pair of timely interceptions. However, the offensive line let Allen down at times, allowing the 23-year old to be sacked on three occasions.

Buffalo Bills pass defense…

2018: 9.2 yards per completion (best in NFL).

2019: 7.3 yards per completion (best in NFL).#GoBills

— Adam Pfeifer (@APfeifer24) September 16, 2019

Despite the occasional letdown, the Bills defense deserve credit for a strong start against inferior competition, ranking sixth in the NFL with just 30 total points allowed. And Buffalo will now have ample opportunity to improve to 3-0 for the first time since 2011 when they host Cincinnati on Sunday afternoon.

Bengals’ Early Optimism Fades Following Week 2 Rout

The Bengals provided their fans with reason to be optimistic with a strong effort in a losing cause in Week 1, falling 21-20 to the Seattle Seahawks as lengthy 9.5-point home underdogs. Andy Dalton looked to be in vintage form while tossing for a whopping 418 yards and two scores, while the Bengals defense limited Seattle to just 232 total yards of offense and 12 first downs.

Andy Dalton went 35/51, with 418 yards (career high for him and most by a Bengals QB in a season opener), 2 TD’s and a passer rating of 106.5, WITHOUT AJ in Seattle.

He’s still getting hate and blamed for the loss.

What more do people want him to do? @EvilAndyDalton

— Diehard Reds (@Diehard_Reds) September 8, 2019

However, even with Dalton enjoying a stellar performance, weaknesses in the Bengals game were evident. The Seahawks got to the 31-year-old veteran regularly, sacking Dalton on five occasions. That’s a trend that extended into Week 2, with the San Francisco 49ers sacking Dalton five times and intercepting a pair of passes in a 41-17 demolition of the Bengals, who had entered their home opener as 1-point chalk.

Cincinnati Continuing 2018 Season-Ending Freefall

The Bengals’ poor start continues a run of futility that dates back to the first half of last season. Cincinnati is now a meager 2-11 SU in their past 13 contests, including a 0-6 SU mark on the road. But there are some positives to be found in the Bengals’ recent record. The squad has covered in five of their past six outings, including four ATS wins as heavy underdogs.

Radio Guys Recap 📻

Dan Hoard and Dave Lapham recap the #Bengals Week 2 loss to the San Francisco 49ers. pic.twitter.com/h5waiPUZVG

— Cincinnati Bengals (@Bengals) September 15, 2019

Cincinnati has also gone 4-1 SU in five meetings with the Bills since 2010, including a pair of road victories. But the Bills defense is likely to be too much for the porous Bengals offensive line to handle, setting the stage for the line to continue to move in Buffalo’s favor after opening as a 5.5-point home favorite.