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Bengals vs Cowboys – Preseason Week 2 Preview

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Cincinnati Bengals (1-0) at Dallas Cowboys (0-1)

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LAST WEEKS RECAP

The Bengals got off to a promising start last week against the Bears, winning 30-27. Thanks in part to a late game winning touchdown by Auden Tate.

On offense we saw a near perfect outing from the first team starters. They played three offensive drives, scoring on two of them with ease. The one where they did not score was due to an interception by Andy Dalton. However it shouldn’t raise any huge red flags since it was not really his fault. John Ross slipped on the route making it an easy pick by the defense. The first team offense gave fans plenty to be happy about, including the new offensive line. Dalton spread the ball around well and moved the ball down the field smoothly.

The first team defense also showed very well. They held Mitchell Trubisky to just four yards passing. One of the most promising displays was the Bengals pass rush. With a rotation of Carlos Dunlap, Geno Atkins, Carl Lawson, Michael Johnson, and Sam Hubbard, the Bengals will be hard to keep off the quarterback. The middle of the defense still needs some work with the linebacking core as they need to figure out how to deal with the absence of Vontaze Burfict. But was an overall very solid showing against the Bears offense.

5 THINGS TO WATCH AGAINST DALLAS

1) The most important thing I will be watching for this weekend will be the linebacker play. Dallas has a very good run game with both Dak Prescott and Ezekiel Elliott. Last week we saw the linebackers make a few mistakes against the run. If they can show improvement and hold Prescott and Elliot on the ground, it will be a very encouraging sign. The Bengals have to see better play from their linebackers without Vontaze Burfict on the field.

2) My eyes will again be on Tyler Boyd and John Ross as I continue to see if they can step up and add to this offense like people expect them too. I’m excited to see them more involved and hope they can get some confidence going against a weak Cowboys secondary.

3) The offensive line is something to watch for every week during preseason. The Bengals offensive line coach previously coached the offensive line for Dallas, so it will be interesting to see what his line can do against his former team. The line will have their hands full with Demarcus Lawrence and the rest of the Cowboys line. Both the starting right guard and right tackle spots are still up for grabs, so there should be some great battles to watch in the trenches.

4) Jeff Driskel has passed Matt Barkley on the depth chart and should be the second quarterback to see the field. Driskel should see a little tougher competition this week so be sure to keep an eye on how he handles the new competition.

5) The last thing to watch for is rookie safety Jesse Bates. Bates challenged George Iloka for playing time last week. Bates is still a rookie learning the game and did not have any highlight plays against the Bears but showed a lot of upside with his awareness and quickness. The Bengals are usually slow to give rookies playing time, so for Bates to see the field as early as he did is a very telling sign for the rookie.

Game: Bengals (1-0) at Dallas Cowboys (0-1)

Date/Time: August 18, 2018 at 7:00 p.m. EST

Location: AT&T Stadium

Last Matchup: 10/09/16 – Dallas 28 Cincinnati 14

Odds: Bengals, +3 (Odds Shark)

Thanks for reading, be sure to follow me on Twitter @Pierson242FF for your latest Bengals news. Be sure to tweet any Bengals or general football questions or comments my way.

5 Reasons the Cincinnati Bengals WILL Make the Playoffs

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You read the headline right – the Cincinnati Bengals are going to the playoffs. We’re sure of that. You may be wondering how it’s possible. After all, aren’t they 3-4-1 with a referee-funded loss to hated divisional rival Pittsburgh? Yes, and heck yes. But dig deeper into those numbers and you’ll see why this team is in prime position to play more than 16 games. We know they can do it. In fact, we know they will do it. And here are our 5 reasons to back that up.

Cincinnati Bengals Will Make the Postseason for These 5 Reasons

1. The second half of the schedule is easier. The Cincinnati Bengals have played 4 teams this season who either lead their division or are tied for the lead.  They play 2 the rest of the year (of those who are leading their divisions now). One will be a rematch against the Steelers in Cincinnati. Their remaining opponents are a combined 27-32. Murderer’s Row, this ain’t.

2. Tyler Eifert is back. Even though Andy Dalton and company have been solid, the Cincinnati Bengals have missed Pro-Bowler Eifert (and his 6’6 frame) over the middle. Because he’s a big target, he creates big matchup problems for opposing defenses. Defenses that are also trying to cover A.J. Green.


3. The running game is hitting its stride. The Bengals have rushed for 962 yards this year, good for fifth in the league. That’s reason enough to be excited – but that isn’t even the strength of the offense! Plus, that total includes games against the Steelers (12th-ranked rushing defense in the NFL), Dallas Cowboys (7th) and New York Jets (4th).

4. They’re only a half-game out of first in the AFC North. Cincinnati has some bad losses this year. But it’s not like they are a mile away from the playoffs, like some other Ohio-based pro football team we know. They’re in a good spot. And considering their remaining opponents have a winning percentage of .457, they are in a great spot.

5. They have 4 division games left. That’s huge because of point #4. Furthermore, any win in those games is doubly good for Cincinnati and doubly bad for their opponents. Beat Pittsburgh and they lose the head-to-head tiebreaker advantage.  Sweep the Baltimore Ravens and you have one less team to contend with for a wild-card berth. Sounds good to us.

Cincinnati Bengals vs Dallas Cowboys – Week 5 Recap

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Welp … the Cincinnati Bengals would agree – that wasn’t pretty.

 The Bengals’ matchup against the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday (a 28-14 Dallas win) looked like a game from the NES classic Tecmo Bowl– only it was 22 Bo Jacksons vs Arkansas Baptist Community College, if the Buffaloes were on 8-bit.

 What Went Wrong for the Cincinnati Bengals

Cowboys RB Ezekiel Elliot trucked the Cincinnati Bengals for 134 yards and 2 touchdowns on only 15 carries. He saw more daylight than Savings Time. Dak Prescott completed 75% of his passes for 227 yards. Even more impressive, he kept alive his incredible streak of not throwing an interception in 5 games this season.

Cincinnati Bengals’ QB Andy Dalton did throw for 249 yards and 2 scores. He was also put on the turf 4 times behind an offensive line that struggled to keep the pressure off of him, and paved the way for just 96 rushing yards for the team. All-everything receiver AJ Green was held to just 4 catches for 50 yards.

The Dallas O-line, on the other hand, had quite the day. They produced 180 yards rushing and yielded only 1 sack. They built a 28-0 lead that lasted until there were only 10 minutes left in the game.

 The Cincinnati Bengals should be showing up more at this point in the season. If they repeat this kind of performance, even the 0-5 “little brother” Browns could give them a run for their money. With a game against the New England Patriots on deck, the Cincinnati Bengals could lose some serious momentum at a time when they really don’t need to.

Bengals Preseason Recap

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Man, time sure does fly! It’s hard to believe training camp and the preseason are complete and we are now in a short holding pattern waiting for the regular season to kickoff for the Bengals in a little over a week.

The Bengals had a solid preseason finishing with a 3-1 record. A quick review/recap of the 4 preseason games:

    8/8/13 – Game 1 – at Atlanta Falcons

I attended this game and even though the starters didn’t play much it was good to see the Bengals dominate in every way. Both Josh Johnson and John Skelton looked sharp and each threw a TD pass and no interceptions. Receivers Brandon Tate and Dane Sanzenbacher each caught a touchdown, Sanzenbacher also returned a punt 71 yards late in the 3rd quarter for a touchdown. Rookie RB Giovani Bernard rushed for 28 yards and his first NFL touchdown, Josh Johnson ran for 64 yards and rookie Rex Burkhead had 52 yards on 9 carries. Final: Bengals 34, Falcons 10

    8/17/13 – Game 2 – Tennessee Titans

This game could have been a lot closer but the Titans couldn’t buy a FG as they missed 3 in 5 attempts. Dalton played well in his time in the game after getting roughed up on the opening drive, he lead 2 TD drives including a pretty TD pass to Mohamed Sanu in the 2nd quarter. The Bengals again had a big day running the ball, Herron had 81 yards rushing and a TD and Gio Bernard had 37 yards on 7 carries and a TD as well. Final: Bengals 27, Titans 19

    8/24/13 – Game 3 – at Dallas Cowboys

Game 3 of the preseason is usually considered to be the dress rehearsal and while the first teams shined at times there were too many mistakes on both sides of the ball in this game. The offense turned the ball over 4 times (Dalton & Johnson each threw an INT and the WR’s fumbled twice), Dre Kirkpatrick also had a rough night as he got schooled by Dez Bryant, missed several tackles and was responsible for 2 pass interference penalties. Final: Bengals 18, Cowboys 24

    8/29/13 – Game 4 – Indianapolis Colts

The final preseason game is the last chance for bubble players to show that they should make the team or at least put some good play on film for other teams to see. Dalton and many first teamers were on the field for the opening drive and finished it off with a Giovani Bernard 1 yard TD run. The Bengals got good play from both backup QB’s and again ran the ball well gaining close to 200 yards on the ground. The Bengals looked like the team with the better depth in this one. Final: Bengals 27, Colts 10

Chicago here we come!

It’s Mid-December, Bengals Control Destiny

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So today is Sunday, December 16th, 2012 and the Bengals are off today as they are coming off a Thursday night game against the Philadelphia Eagles in Philly this past week which they won by a score of 34-13. The Bengals were able to rebound from a tough 1 point loss at home against the Dallas Cowboys the game prior to that and forced 5 turnovers against a bad Eagle team while getting their first defensive touchdown of the season in the win. The team now has a record of 8-6 and are in a “win and you’re in” position in mid-December to make the playoffs in consecutive seasons for the first time in 30 years.

So what’s next? If the Broncos beat the Ravens today the Bengals will still have a shot at the division title with 2 games remaining. If the Cowboys defeat the Steelers today the Bengals will have a one game lead on the final AFC Wildcard spot. If the Texans beat the Colts today the Bengals will be one game behind the Colts for the 5th seed Wildcard spot. The next 2 games are at Pittsburgh and at home against the reeling Ravens. Talk about huge!

If you are a Bengals fan you can’t ask for much more than to be in this position come mid-December. So with that all being said, the only thing left to say is WHO DEY!