Lions @ Bengals
Lions
BengalsArchived 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: Lions beat the Bengals 37-24 on the road. The market closed with Lions at -600 on the moneyline and the total at 49.5. This was an NFL 2025 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: Lions betting trends · Bengals betting trends · all NFL games
Lions vs Bengals betting splits
Where was the money on Lions vs Bengals?
| Market | Side | Tickets | Money | Closing line / odds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spread | Lions | 83% | 81% | -10 (-108) |
| Bengals | 17% | 19% | +10 (-111) | |
| Total | Over | 33% | 36% | O 49.5 (-106) |
| Under | 67% | 64% | U 49.5 (-113) | |
| Moneyline | Lions | 97% | 95% | -600 |
| Bengals | 3% | 5% | +425 |
83% of spread tickets and 81% of spread money were on the Lions, so the Lions drew more tickets than money and the average Bengals bet was larger.
67% of total tickets and 64% of total money were on the under, so the under drew more tickets than money and the average over bet was larger.
97% of moneyline tickets and 95% of moneyline money were on the Lions, so the Lions drew more tickets than money and the average Bengals bet was larger.
Line movement
What was the closing line for Lions vs Bengals?
| Market | Earliest tracked | Closing | Move |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spread (Bengals) | +10.5 | +10 | -0.5 |
| Total | 49.5 | 49.5 | 0 |
The Lions were -10.5 24 hours before kickoff and closed -10, a 0.5-point move toward the Bengals.
The total was 49.5 24 hours before kickoff and closed 49.5: it has not moved.
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 Lions vs Bengals line move?
The spread moved 0.5 points toward the Bengals (Bengals +10.5 to Bengals +10) even though 81% of the spread money sits on the Lions; the Bengals hold 19% of the money and 17% of the tickets, so the line moved away from the money side. The total did not move from the line tracked 24 hours before kickoff (49.5) even with 64% of the total money on the under. 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.