Sunday afternoon’s tilt between the Cincinnati Bengals and Dallas Cowboys features a pair of second place teams looking for a win that could help shape their season.
The Bengals come into Dallas with a full 10 day rest after throttling the hapless Miami Dolphins on Thursday Night Football, 22-7. The Bengals stingy defense held the Dolphins to only 222 yards, while forcing Dolphins’ QB Ryan Tannehill into 2 turnovers.
The Dallas defense will have to worry about one of the best receivers in all of football. A.J. Green leads the league with 32 receptions through 4 games while hauling in 468 yards so far.
Sunday will also provide a homecoming of sorts for Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton. Nicknamed “The Red Rifle”, Dalton played his collegiate career at Texas Christian.
Dalton leads the NFL in completions 20 yards or greater, something that isn’t lost on his head coach Marvin Lewis.
“His vertical throws…count for the yards per attempt. His ability to throw the ball based on the look has been really good as always,” Lewis said Wednesday. “Accurate throws come from clean pockets and everyone on the same page down the field in the routes.”
Dallas again will be looking to lean heavily on two rookies to carry the load on offense.
Quarterback Dak Prescott overcame an early 14-0 deficit against the San Francisco 49ers to come away with a 24-17 victory. Prescott threw for 245 yards and two touchdowns in only his fourth career start.
“It shows the character of this team and this offense, we took a breath after the rough start, and we got things going the right way,” Prescott said after the victory.
Meanwhile Ezekiel Elliott, the team’s first round pick in April, seemed to grow stronger as the game wore on against the 49ers. The rookie rushed for 138 yards and a touchdown on 23 carries, and now leads the NFL in rushing yardage and yards per carry.
Bengals linebacker Vontaze Burfict, fresh off his 2 game suspension, doesn’t seem to be too impressed by the early season performance of the Cowboys rookie.
“They’re a great O line, and honestly I think any running back could run behind them,” Burfict told the Dayton Daily News. “Just find the hole for Ezekiel and obviously hit it.”
Prediction Time: A tight game Sunday afternoon comes down to which team makes more big plays on offense and stops the running game defensively. A.J. Green runs wild on the Dallas secondary, and Burfict’s return bolsters the Cincy run defense to keep Elliott and Prescott in check. The Bengals roar out of Big D with a 28-24 victory.