The Cincinnati Bengals seemed like a safe bet to win their season opener against the New England Patriots.
With a 7.5-point spread at home, they were the largest favorites of Week 1. As such, they were a popular pick among survivor pool players for this week’s openers.
In the popular Circa Sports survivor pool, the Bengals were picked by 4,895 people, making them the most-picked team by far at 34.3% of the more than 14,000 entries. Big mistake.
The Bengals played a putrid game and lost 16-10.
#CircaSurvivor 2024
Week 1 SelectionsComplete selections: https://t.co/7AUS2wUrt0 pic.twitter.com/GYVsPNP4lG
— Circa Sports (@CircaSports) September 8, 2024
For fans who have been paying any attention over the years, they probably knew the Bengals were hardly a lock to win Week 1, as they annually get off to slow starts under Zac Taylor and Joe Burrow. Cincinnati lost its 2022 and 2023 openers too.
This one was a special kind of bad, though. It stands as the biggest Week 1 upset since 2018, according to Action Network’s Evan Abrams.
…and it’s over. Patriots (+8) beat the Bengals in the opener — the biggest Week 1 upset since Bucs (+10) over the Saints in 2018.
Burrow moves to 2-7 ATS in his first two games of the regular season now. https://t.co/WsyGQfHGcG
— Evan Abrams (@EvanHAbrams) September 8, 2024
On the bright side, the people who avoided the Bengals in their pools have a lot less competition remaining the rest of the year.
