After a Week 1 upset at the hands of the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Cincinnati Bengals hit the road for a matchup with the Dak Prescott-less Dallas Cowboys — and that's where we're looking for our NFL Same-Game Parlay for Week 2 in the late afternoon window.
With playoff hopes now bleak, can Cooper Rush take over as Prescott recovers from surgery? Will Joe Burrow and the Bengals come out with vengeance after an embarrassing Week 1 performance against Mitch Trubisky and the Steelers?
There are a lot of questions to be answered, so let’s have some fun with a same-game parlay for Bengals-Cowboys:
Bengals
Alt Line -5.5 (-158)
I’m going to keep this one shorter.
Even with Prescott under center, the Cowboys were a disaster. The Tyron Smith loss proved to be substantial, and the Buccaneers defense had a field day against the Cowboys offensive line.
The Bengals defense isn’t too far behind the Bucs, and they should bring consistent pressure against Cooper Rush. And, well, it’s Cooper Rush.
Kellen Moore should be a bit more conservative with Rush under center — although we may see some more trickery — but I don’t think Dallas will be able to generate much offense.
As for the Bengals, they still nearly took down Pittsburgh despite five turnovers from Joe Burrow. That will not happen again — not even close.
I think the Bengals roll here. Burrow should pick apart this Dallas defense, and Cincinnati should have no issues stopping Rush. I don’t like taking the hook at -7.5, so I’m buying below the touchdown mark and backing the Bengals here at 5.5.
In a same-game parlay, it’s always important to add some cushion and save yourself from key numbers. I’m doing that here and playing it safe, despite my belief that this could turn into a blowout.
Ja’Marr Chase
o75.5 Receiving Yards (-110)
I think you could set this line at 99.5 on Sunday and I’d take the over here. It’s Ja’Marr Chase against Trevon Diggs, a matchup nightmare … if you’re Diggs.
Remember the 2020 National Championship? Chase erupted for 221 yards and two touchdowns against Alabama. The man lined up against him? Trevon Diggs.
Tee Higgins should return after suffering a concussion in Week 1, but that just opens up more opportunities for Chase. In Week 1, Chase totaled 129 yards. While the Bengals passed way more than expected — Burrow’s interceptions put them in a hole early — I’d expect Chase to reach near triple digits once again on Sunday.
Over the last eight games, including the season opener, Chase has cleared this number six times, all of which came by double digits.
I’ll continue to fade Diggs, who is one of the more overrated cornerbacks in the NFL, backing Chase to have a huge day in Dallas.
Hayden Hurst
Anytime TD (+310)
With every same-game parlay I do, I like to take an anytime touchdown scorer to sweeten the odds. Of all the Bengals players, the most value lies with tight end Hayden Hurst.
Filling the C.J. Uzomah role from a season ago, Hurst caught five receptions — on eight targets — for 46 yards in Week 1. In the red zone, he was the second-most targeted receiver.
Burrow targeted Chase six of the 10 times last week, but Hurst should see a couple of opportunities on Saturday.
In 2020, before Kyle Pitts was drafted to Atlanta and Hayden Hurst was TE1, he was the second-most targeted Falcon inside the red zone, on 20 percent of attempts.
The Bengals are projected to score at least three times on Sunday, and I believe Hurst is a bit undervalued at +290.
Tony Pollard
o17.5 Receiving Yards (-105)
I was on the over for Tony Pollard receiving yards last week, and after he came up just short, I’m going back to the well in Week 2.
Pollard’s late push came after a 10-yard reception from Cooper Rush, and I think he’ll be relied on heavily against this strong Bengals defense. Last year, when Pollard registered three receptions, he went over this 17.5 number in seven of eight games.
It was a near 50-50 split for Pollard and Ezekiel Elliott in Week 1, and I’d expect a similar output against Cincinnati. This’ll be another game in a negative game script and I expect Rush to be quicker to checkdown as opposed to Dak Prescott.
With Chidobe Awuzie likely on Ceedee Lamb and Michael Gallup still out, Pollard should play a large role in the passing game. In what will be a negative game script, back Pollard to have a big day through the air.
The Same-Game Parlay (+2131 at FanDuel Sportsbook):
- Bengals Alt Line -5.5 (-158)
- Ja’Marr Chase o75.5 Receiving Yards (-110)
- Hayden Hurst Anytime TD (+310)
- Tony Pollard o17.5 Receiving Yards (-105)
