New Orleans at Cincinnati

The New Orleans Saints have made their move and have improved to 8-3 on the season winning four straight games. The stuffed suits on TV are now talking about them going to the Super Bowl. They have certainly been playing better football, but against whom? Last week they beat the Cowboys, but failed to cover the spread. The Cowboys racked up over 450 yards of offense in that game and under Sean Payton, the Saints are just 6-15 ATS after giving up 400+ yards. Prior to that game, the Saints played games against the likes of Seattle, Carolina twice, Cleveland and Arizona. This team has played a very weak schedule (bottom five in the league). It's not a suprise that it's been a tough chore for them as the Super Bowl winner. Teams that win the Superbowl the previous year are 32-67 ATS on the road as a favorite the following year with everyone gunning for them. The Saints are 2-3 ATS this year in the defender role on the road. Bengals have lost eight straight and their season is long gone, but they have one more game with a lot of meaning left and that is this one. With the pressure off, they get a shot to take down the Super Bowl champion, so I expect their "A" game for this one. Speaking of "A" games, the Saints have not brought theirs vs. teams with a losing record where they are 1-7 ATS in their last eight. The Bengals make for lousy favorites, but they rule the roost as a home dog where they are 5-2 ATS in their last seven. One more hurrah for the Bengals. I will grab the points and Cincinnati here.