Another week of NFL preseason action comes to a close tonight when the Cincinnati Bengals and Washington Commanders tango at Northwest Stadium, with kickoff at 8:00 p.m. ET
Our Bengals vs. Commanders predictions eye Cincy, as its depth will help lead the squad to cover this field goal spread.
Find out more in our NFL picks for August 18 below.
Bengals vs Commanders prediction
Bengals vs Commanders Best bet: Bengals -3 (-110)
The Washington Commanders rested a staggering 30 of their best players last week at Gillette Stadium and subsequently got taken 48-18. There’s good news for Commanders fans, though, with franchise quarterback Jayden Daniels confirmed for Monday night.
Washington head coach Dan Quinn has said that the starters will be in for a “few series” but then followed that up speaking purely about Daniels, saying that “it's not going to be super long, so I wouldn't like to do like an extended popcorn break or something, but I'd be ready to be involved with it for sure.”
Just like in the Patriots defeat, that means it’ll be Josh Johnson and Sam Hartman under center for the majority of the game, with Marcus Mariota again out with injury.
Both Hartman and Johnson threw picks last week, although the offense did flow better with Johnson at the helm. We do know that some starters will be missing, with Bobby Wagner, Von Miller, Zach Ertz, Laremy Tunsil, Sam Cosmi, Terry McLaurin, and Brandon Coleman joining Mariota in civilian clothes on the sideline.
The Cincinnati Bengals also failed to win their opening preseason game but performed better in a 34-27 defeat to the Eagles. Joe Burrow completed nine of 10 passes for 123 yards and a pair of touchdowns. We’ll see him again vs. Washington, per head coach Zac Taylor, and he should play the first quarter.
After Burrow, the team will give opportunities to both Desmond Ridder and Jake Browning. Both are solid backups and can lead this offense. Elsewhere, we should see Cam Taylor-Britt and Dax Hill involved, while the Bengals’ first-round pick Shemar Stewart should be playing with the first stringers.
While the big news is that both Burrow and Daniels will play, the reality is it’ll be the guys under center in the other three quarters who dictate the outcome, and when you look at each team's quarterback room, it's clear that the Bengals have more depth and should be able to cover the spread here.
Bengals vs Commanders odds
- Spread: Bengals -170 | Commanders +145
- Moneyline: Bengals -3 (-110) | Commanders +3 (-110)
- Over/Under: Over 43 (-110) | Under 43 (-110)
How to watch Bengals vs Commanders
| Location: | Northwest Stadium, Landover, MD |
| Date: | Monday, 8-18, 2025 |
| Kickoff: | 8:00 p.m. ET |
| TV: | ESPN |
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