Bengals @ Cardinals
Bengals
CardinalsArchived game: closing numbers from Action Network's consensus at kickoff. Live odds, picks and the confluence table only run on games still on the slate.
Matchup summary
Final: Bengals beat the Cardinals 34-20 on the road. The market closed with Bengals at -170 on the moneyline and the total at 45.5. This was an NFL 2023 week 5 game. The closing betting splits (tickets vs money), the earliest tracked line and the movement into kickoff are below.
More on this matchup: Bengals betting trends · Cardinals betting trends · all NFL games
Bengals vs Cardinals betting splits
Where was the money on Bengals vs Cardinals?
| Market | Side | Tickets | Money | Closing line / odds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spread | Bengals | 46% | 21% | -3 (-120) |
| Cardinals | 54% | 79% | +3 (-102) | |
| Total | Over | 36% | 13% | O 45.5 (-110) |
| Under | 64% | 87% | U 45.5 (-110) | |
| Moneyline | Bengals | 67% | 22% | -170 |
| Cardinals | 33% | 78% | +142 |
54% of spread tickets and 79% of spread money were on the Cardinals, so the average Cardinals bet was larger than the average Bengals bet.
64% of total tickets and 87% of total money were on the under, so the average under bet was larger than the average over bet.
The Bengals held 67% of moneyline tickets but only 22% of the money; 78% of moneyline money was on the Cardinals with 33% of tickets, so the average Cardinals bet was larger.
Line movement
What was the closing line for Bengals vs Cardinals?
| Market | Earliest tracked | Closing | Move |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spread (Cardinals) | +3 | +3 | 0 |
| Total | 44.5 | 45.5 | +1 |
The Bengals were -3 24 hours before kickoff and closed -3: the spread has not moved.
The total was 44.5 24 hours before kickoff and closed 45.5, a 1-point move toward the over.
The earliest tracked line is the oldest consensus snapshot Locksmith holds for this game, not the market opener.
Why the line moved
Why did the Bengals vs Cardinals line move?
The spread did not move from the line tracked 24 hours before kickoff (Cardinals +3) even with 79% of the spread money on the Cardinals. The total moved 1 point toward the over (44.5 to 45.5) even though 87% of the total money sits on the under; the over holds 13% of the money and 36% of the tickets, so the line moved away from the money side. Splits describe where the money sits, not what will happen.
Across 822 NFL games (2023 week 5 through 2026 week 2, Action Network closing splits), the side with a larger money share than ticket share covered the spread 50.0% of the time (384-384-13) and hit the total 50.8% (396-383-6); break-even at -110 is 52.4%. Splits describe where the money sits, not what will happen.