Top NFL Week 2 Preseason Betting Picks: Washington vs. Bengals (8/20)

For Bengals fans waiting to see their franchise quarterback take the field for the first time since his injury last season, you'll have to wait yet another week, and probably two. Joe Burrow won't suit up again for Cincinnati, putting Friday's night's preseason tilt with Washington on the shoulders of Brandon Allen and Kyle Shurmur once again.

The preseason can be one of the toughest times to bet on football, or on any sport for that matter. Mostly because not only is playing time uncertain, players can be held out just minutes before kickoff. Take Jalen Hurts last night, for example.

With that being said, make sure to bet within your means in the preseason and do as much research as possible to make sure you've got a grasp on all available information before the game begins. Here's my best bet in the Bengals vs. Washington matchup.

Check out our consensus odds for this week’s preseason games >>

Washington Football Team vs. Cincinnati Bengals (+6; O/U 34.5)

We're going to be a bit late to the party in this one, but thankfully there's still about a half-point worth of value on the total here. Unfortunately for us, Washington at -6 is just too large of a spread in a preseason game; I liked the Football Team at the opening number of -3, but it's moved three whole points, which puts it out of range. We're not going to chase a bad number.

In my Eagles vs. Patriots preview, I mentioned how the unders went 14-3 in the first week of the preseason; and as expected, this total opened about a point and a half too low as a result. At first glance, this one seems like an easy under, but I like the over more and more after digging deeper and deeper. Here's why:

Bengals head coach Zac Taylor is holding Joe Burrow out, as expected and previously mentioned, but he also noted he doesn't envision playing his starters much longer than he did in the first preseason game – and for those who didn't tune in, they played just one series. Cincinnati beat writers are predicting the starters will all be removed from the game by the end of the first quarter, too. And sure, this certainly seems like a reason to bet the under – no Burrow, limited reps from Tee Higgins, Tyler Boyd, and Ja'Marr Chase, just a few touches for Joe Mixon – but I was actually encouraged by some of the Bengals reserves against the Buccaneers reserves last week. I was discouraged by Washington's backups on defense.

Washington's reserves didn't look sharp at all against New England last week – as they allowed 127 rushing yards to Rhamondre Stevenson and let Mac Jones complete 13 of his 19 passes – and Cincinnati's backups will get two, maybe two-plus quarters against them. They scored 19 points last week and should be capable of stringing together a few scoring drives against a backup Washington unit that allowed 19 points of their own over the final three quarters against the Patriots.

And perhaps most importantly, on the Washington side, we'll most likely see anywhere from a full quarter to a full half of their starting offense against almost exclusively backup Bengals defenders. Washington's offense is sneakily talented – remember, they added Ryan Fitzpatrick, Curtis Samuel, and Adam Humphries, and those guys need to get in sync. Scoring drives will be the goal, and there won't be much resistance from Cincinnati.

For full disclosure, my favorite bet isn't even on the board, and I'm not sure it'll be posted. But I'll include a quick write-up on it anyway. If Washington 1H is posted, and it's -3 or better, that is my best bet of the night on this game. A top-five defense with the best defensive front in football against a backup quarterback and a lot of other reserves sprinkled around the Bengals offense, plus a formidable Washington offense that needs to score points? The Football Team should dominate the first half. Cincinnati will do their damage in the second half, but Washington should completely control the first two quarters of play.

The Pick: Over 34.5 (Prefer Washington 1H up to -3 if posted)

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Mike Wagenman is a featured writer at BettingPros. For more from Mike, check out his archive and follow him on Twitter @mjwags23.