The San Francisco 49ers will take on the Cincinnati Bengals at 1 p.m. ET on Sunday at Paul Brown Stadium. Both the 49ers and Bengals made bettors happy in their season-opening matchups. San Francisco earned an outright victory over the Buccaneers as an underdog, while Cincinnati easily covered the 9.5-point spread in a 21-20 loss on the road against Seattle. Cincinnati enters Sunday's matchup as a 1.5-point favorite in the latest 49ers vs. Bengals odds, while the over-under for total points scored is 45.5. Before making any 49ers vs. Bengals picks of your own, see the NFL predictions from the SportsLine Projection Model.
This model, which simulates every NFL game 10,000 times, is up over $7,000 for $100 players on its top-rated NFL picks since its inception four years ago. It has nailed its recent top-rated NFL picks, entering Week 2 of the 2019 NFL season on a sizzling 17-6 run that dates back to last season. It's also on a strong 79-49 roll on top-rated NFL picks that dates back to the 2017 season.
The model ranked in the Top 10 on NFLPickWatch.com for the third straight year on straight-up NFL picks and beat over 96 percent of CBS Sports office pool players. Anyone who has followed it is way up.
Now, the model has dialed in on 49ers vs. Bengals. We can tell you it is leaning over, and it also says one side of the spread cashes in more than 50 percent of simulations. That one is only available at SportsLine.
The model knows the Bengals' passing attack came out of the gates fast last week in a season-opening loss at Seattle, as quarterback Andy Dalton completed 35 passes for 418 yards and two touchdowns. And despite missing their star wide receiver A.J. Green, the Bengals had three players record at least five receptions against the Seahawks. Wide receiver John Ross led the way for Cincinnati, recording seven receptions for 158 yards and two touchdowns, while Tyler Boyd secured eight catches for 60 yards and Tyler Eifert hauled in five passes for 27 yards.
However, Cincinnati's star running back Joe Mixon suffered an ankle injury early against the Seahawks and was ruled out for the rest of the game. All signs point to Mixon being able to suit up against the 49ers on Sunday, but if he is forced to miss time with the injury, Giovani Bernard, who racked up 63 all-purpose yards last week against Seattle, will step up in his absence.
But just because Cincinnati's offense was extremely explosive in its season opener does not guarantee it will cover the 49ers vs. Bengals spread on Sunday.
That's because the 49ers' defense showed much improvement in their Week 1 victory over the Buccaneers. Last season, the 49ers had just two interceptions all year. In their Week 1 matchup against Tampa Bay, the 49ers intercepted Jameis Winston three times, including two interceptions returned for touchdowns.
Plus, the 49ers have absolutely dominated the Bengals of late, winning 11 of their last 14 matchups against Cincinnati.
So who wins 49ers vs. Bengals? And which side of the spread can you bank on in over 50 percent of simulations? Visit SportsLine now to see which side of the 49ers vs. Bengals spread to jump on Sunday, all from the advanced model that is up more than $7,000 on its top-rated NFL picks, and find out.
