Cincinnati Bengals Over/Under Wins Odds 2021: We'll take the under

6.5 is the magic number for betting on the Cincinnati Bengals and Zach Rainey isn't bullish about their chances of hitting the over...

I felt genuinely bad for Cincinnati Bengals fans last season.

They struck gold by getting the No. 1 pick in a year with a guy like Joe Burrow as the golden prize.

For 10 games, Burrow looked like the real deal. While he was running for his life half of the time, he still made a lot of throws that impressed. He was also without key running back Joe Mixon for the last four.

While he went just 2-7-1, he did complete 63 percent of his throws for 13 touchdowns and five interceptions with a less than impressive group. I always liked A.J. Green, but he couldn’t be the No. 1 receiver there any more. Tyler Boyd is a quality receiver in this league, but he’s not a legit No. 1.

That’s why the Bengals went out and got Burrow’s favorite target back in the bayou at LSU in Ja’Marr Chase. A lot of people thought the pick should’ve been Oregon’s Penei Sewell to help that offensive line that caused Burrow to get hurt.

The team hopes the Mixon comes back looking like himself before the injury. In the 2018 and 2019 seasons, Mixon rushed for over 1,100 yards and five touchdowns, as well as over 280 yards through the air.

With a guy like Chase, that opens the field up a lot more when it will be Tee Higgins lining up on the outside opposite Chase and likely see a lot of Boyd in slot.

On the defensive side, they signed lineman Trey Hendrickson from the Saints to give their line the edge you need playing in the AFC North.

Last year with the Saints, he had 13.5 sicks and was tied for second in the league in that category. Sam Hubbard remains a project.

One thing that scares me is that they will be relying on Trae Waynes as a starting corner having not played since 2019. He was a highly-touted prospect coming out of Michigan State, but never really turned into that shutdown corner, despite the Vikings having success around him. I also have concerns about Vonn Bell at the back end of the defense.

The Bengals might be able to pull out some nice victories early in the season and could even head into the by around .500. But that’s when their schedule gets tougher.

After a game in Las Vegas, the Bengals will have games against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Los Angeles Chargers, San Francisco 49ers, Denver Broncos, Baltimore Ravens, Kansas City Chiefs and the Cleveland Browns to end the season.

Because of that unrelenting stretch they’ll have there, I have the Bengals at 6-11 with the win total having them projected for 6.5.

If I had to pick, I’ll still take the under. I think even some of those wins could shake the wrong way for the Bengals, games like Las Vegas and possibly Jacksonville when one No. 1 pick plays another in Week 4.