The Cincinnati Bengals are in a serious must-win situation here on the road.  Fortunately, they are matched up against a team in the St. Louis Rams who are now 2-11 and have lost four games in a row.  Before the season, the Rams had hopes of being able to take down the NFC West, but they were completely done in by the San Francisco 49ers, who have ran away with the division.  The Bengals are currently sitting at 7-6 overall, and are on the fringe of making a wild card spot.  They are one game back of the New York Jets for the 6th seed in the NFC, and the team will need to get back to their winning ways if they want to make it into the playoffs this season, after losing two games in a row currently.

The main reason why the Rams are 2-11 is partially due to Sam Bradford’s injuries, but also due to the fact that the team just hasn’t been able to get it together at any point during the year.  Steven Jackson has been the lone bright spot, but he can’t win games alone, and the addition of Brandon Lloyd at wide out hasn’t helped them out.  Now, when you look at the Bengals, the team has been led by two rookies in quarterback Andy Dalton, and wide receiver AJ Green.  Cedric Benson has also played a huge role in the offense, but their defense will be the real thing to watch down the stretch of the 2011-2012 NFL season.

This game will kick off at 4:05pm EST, and will be played in St. Louis.  This is definitely one of our favorite picks of the week though, as the Bengals are looking to stay in contention on the road.

Odds and Sports Betting Line

Cincinnati Bengals: -6.5

St. Louis Rams: +6.5

Free Prediction

It’s tough not to like the Cincinnati Bengals here.  The team is in a situation where they have to win this game if they want to remain as a serious playoff contender, and the team they are playing hasn’t shown much of a pulse to this point.  I think that the Bengals win this one in a pretty impressive fashion, and shut down the Rams offense who hasn’t shown much of anything this year.  I’m going with Cincinnati to win by two touchdowns and remain in hot pursuit of the New York Jets for that final playoff spot.

Prediction:  Cincinnati Bengals- 28 St. Louis Rams- 14

Free Pick

I love getting this line before it hits -7, as the Bengals are definitely a much better team than the St. Louis Rams.  The real factor though is that the Bengals have to win this game!  Only one of the Rams two wins this season has come at home, so that doesn’t give me any reason to think that they’ll rise up at home and play better than they have all year.  I think that the Bengals not only get the win, but also cover the spread of -6.5  I’m picking Cincinnati on Sunday.

Pick:  Cincinnati Bengals -6.5