Ja’Marr Chase might not play in this game and Tee Higgins was downgraded to doubtful today and he may not play in this game. The Bengals are usually slow starters to the season and they go up against a Patriots team that has made a lot of positive changes in the off season. They are starting Jacoby Brissett who is an experienced quarterback who has been around the league. New England should do enough to hang around in this game and this is a play on this spread being too big for a Week 1 game. This should be a competitive game as last year's game was 22-18. New England is 6-2 against the spread in their last 8 games against Cincinnati. New England is 13-4-1 against the spread in their last 18 games against an opponent in the AFC North. Cincinnati is 1-4 in their last 5 games played in week 1.

Best bet: take the points with New England