Cincinnati Bengals 2024 Futures Odds: Cincy Among Super Bowl Favorites

Entering the 2024 NFL season, a handful of teams are banking on bounce-back seasons with quarterbacks returning from serious injuries.

But while the Jets, Browns and Falcons all have optimism — but also significant uncertainy — regarding 40-year-old Aaron Rodgers, 28-year-old Deshaun Watson and 36-year-old Kirk Cousins, a healthy season in 2024 for 27-year-old Joe Burrow doesn’t feel quite as much like wishful thinking.

Read more from Newsweek on how to bet the 2024 NFL season

Since Patrick Mahomes’ first year as a starter in 2018, the Chiefs have made the AFC Championship Game six years in a row. KC’s only losses in the AFC title game came in ’18-19 (in overtime to the Patriots) and in ’21-22 (in overtime to the Bengals).

Given that Cincinnati reached the AFC Championship Game the last two years that Burrow stayed healthy (2021 and 2022), it makes sense that only two teams — the Chiefs and Ravens — enter the upcoming season with shorter odds to represent the AFC in Super Bowl 59.

Cincinnati Bengals 2024 Futures Odds

Few teams in the NFL are getting more respect from oddsmakers than the Bengals. Below are where Cincinnati ranks among this year’s Super Bowl favorites at four of the top sportsbooks:

• bet365: tied-fourth-shortest with Detroit (+1200)
• DraftKings: fifth-shortest (+1300)
• Caesars: tied-fifth-shortest (+1300)
• FanDuel: tied-sixth-shortest (+1500)

It’s a testament to the strength of the AFC North that the Bengals are projected by oddsmakers to finish second in their division despite Super Bowl — and win total — odds befitting an 11- or 12-win team.

Cincinnati Bengals 2024 Betting Outlook

• PFF OL Unit Ranking: No. 21
• PFF Receiving Unit Ranking: No. 9
• PFF RB Unit Ranking: No. 30

Bengals’ year-by-year offensive performance with Joe Burrow

Will Burrow’s return make Cincinnati’s offense elite?

The hype around this team begins with the expectation that with Burrow under center, the Bengals will boast one of the best offenses in the league.

The former LSU star has led good offenses when he’s been able to stay healthy, especially in 2022, when the Bengals were top-five in the league in offensive DVOA.

Last year, Burrow struggled out of the gates while battling a calf injury. That ailment played a big role in the Bengals going 1-3 to start the 2023 season, as Cincy’s franchise quarterback had just two passing TDs and four interceptions from Weeks 1-4.

He appeared healthy over the next five weeks, with 12 TDs and four interceptions as the Bengals won four of five to improve to 5-4 entering their trip to Baltimore on November 16. That’s when Burrow suffered a wrist injury that sidelined him for the rest of the year. The Bengals clawed their way to a 9-8 record, including a 4-3 mark in seven starts by Jake Browning to fuel optimism about their prospects in 2024.

Burrow looks healthy right now, though. He even played in his team’s preseason opener against Tampa Bay on August 10, going 5-for-7 for 51 yards and one touchdown.

Who will complement top WRs Chase, Higgins?

Cincinnati returns two quality receivers in Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins. The latter was limited to 11 starts a year ago due to a hamstring injury, but drew three targets in just one series of action in the Bengals’ preseason opener against the Bucs.

Higgins is playing this season under a franchise tag and Chase is in a contract dispute with the club, but as long as both are on the field come September 8 against the Patriots, the Bengals’ passing offense should be tough to stop.

As good as Chase and Higgins are, though, Cincinnati will miss reliable No. 3 WR Tyler Boyd. This offense could also use a productive season from its new starting TE, Mike Gesicki, who failed to make an impact in New England a year ago.

Cincinnati must answer questions at running back, O-line

After trading away Joe Mixon this offseason, the Bengals’ top two running backs are Zack Moss and Chase Brown. Moss filled in well for the Colts in eight starts in place of the injured Jonathan Taylor in 2023, and Brown — a fifth-round draft pick in 2023 — showed some promise as a change-of-pace ball carrier late last season. Neither enters 2024 as a proven starting RB, though. Mixon will be missed not only as a rusher, but also for his role in the passing game (he averaged over 50 receptions per season in his last three years as a Bengal).

The offensive line has been an area Cincinnati has invested in throughout Burrow’s career, but it needs to improve in 2024 for this team to reach its ceiling.

Burrow was sacked 24 times in 389 dropbacks last year. Backup QB Jake Browning had even more trouble staying upright after Burrow’s wrist injury. In seven starts, Browning went down 24 times on just 267 dropacks, for a sack rate of 9 percent. The Bengals signed tackle Trent Brown this offseason and drafted OT Amarius Mims from Georgia at No. 18 in the NFL Draft, but both Brown and Mims are currently dealing with inuries.

A healthy front five (from left to right) of Orlando Brown Jr., Cordell Volson, Ted Karras, Alex Cappa and Trent Brown figures to be a good unit, and it will need to be solid, because the Bengals can’t afford to struggle with pass protection again.

The other intriguing question for the Cincinnati offense comes at offensive coordinator, where the Bengals promoted Dan Pitcher from quarterbacks coach to OC to replace Brian Callahan, who is now head coach of the Titans.

How will defense fare after disappointing in 2023?

• PFF DL Unit Ranking: No. 13
• PFF Linebacker Unit Ranking: No. 14
• PFF Secondary Unit Ranking: No. 14

Veteran coordinator Lou Anarumo’s unit was underrated in 2022, when it allowed just 20.1 points per game (No. 6 in the NFL) and finished the season No. 7 in defensive DVOA.

But last year, the Bengals allowed 22.6 points per game, and were ranked No. 23 in defensive DVOA.

Cincinnati doesn’t boast a ton of star power on defense, but should be competent on that side of the ball this year. Up front, defensive end Trey Hendrickson leads the way after piling up 39.5 sacks — and three Pro Bowl appearances — over the last three seasons. The Bengals will miss DT D.J. Reader, who joined the Lions in free agency, but between Hendrickson, free agent DT signing Sheldon Rankins and returning starters Sam Hubbard and B.J. Hill, Cincinnati’s D-line should remain stout.

While the Cincinnati linebackers and defensive back units are also lacking in terms of household names, LBs Germaine Pratt and Logan Wilson are steady veterans in the middle of the field. The secondary returns mostly intact from a year ago and also welcomes a promising FA signing in 25-year-old safety Geno Stone. He picked off seven passes and recorded nine pass breakups last season for Baltimore’s outstanding defense.

Cincinnati Bengals 2024 Best Bets

Win total under: 10.5 (+105 at bet365)

Cincinnati has a high floor if Burrow returns to form, but this offense isn’t deep after losing its No. 3 WR, Boyd, and its top RB, Mixon.

Burrow, Chase and Higgins give this team a QB-WR 1-WR 2 trio that few teams can match. The Cincinnati offense is otherwise short on proven commodities, though, and it also lost a quality coordinator in Brian Callahan this offseason.

If the O-line once again struggles to project Burrow, the former LSU star may need the best year of his career to help the Bengals meet oddsmakers’ expectations.

This team does catch a scheduling break despite playing in a tough division.

Thanks to its fourth-place finish in the AFC North last year, Cincinnati’s opponents outside the tough divisions it faces (the AFC North, NFC East and AFC West) are the Patriots, Titans and Panthers. In fact, the Bengals have the sixth-easiest schedule in the league, according to SharpFootballAnalysis.

That should make a double-digit win season a possibility, but there’s nevertheless value in taking Bengals Under 10.5 Wins at plus-money given the questions this team must answer at a number of positions.

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