My reasons for favoring the Bengals might stun people. It's because of their offensive line. As badly as we thought the Bengals had it last year when they played four different left tackles and none of them were the guys that was supposed to play left tackle, the Cowboys have had it much worse this year.
La'el Collins, one the best right tackles in the NFL, hasn't played a snap. Tyron Smith, one of the best left tackles in the NFL, suffered an early season-ending injury. Travis Fredrick, who was one of the best centers in the NFL for a long period of time, retired. Zack Martin, one of the best guards in the NFL, will not play in this game. I can't remember a team losing four offensive linemen that good in such a short period of time. They've got a couple of undrafted free agents starting on the offensive line and for that reason I will take the Bengals.
My first year was Andy's first year and that began the run of five straight play-off appearances. I really admire Andy. I thought he was underappreciated. He did far more good than bad during his nine years with the Bengals. I will always root for him, except for this week.
THE EDGE: Between the offensive line and the Cowboys' short week, I think the Bengals squeak one out. BENGALS, 21-20
It's hard to kind of analyze this one. Andy is in a different situation, but he looks like the same guy. Against the Ravens on Tuesday night it was a lot of the same stuff we saw here where he gets the ball out quickly. He makes some good decisions. He misses some easy throws at times.
He's got an offensive line that has issues and we saw that here. When he had a good offensive line he was really good and when the line wasn't as good, that's when the trouble set in. It comes down to which team can get after the other team's quarterback the most. Dallas does that a little bit better. I could see the Bengals taking advantage of that banged up offensive line and finally getting some pressure, something that's been missing all year.
I think getting cornerback Darius Phillips back is going to be big for the Bengals because LeShaun Sims really struggled and Darius isn't great, but he's an upgrade there. I think cornerback William Jackson III is going to shadow Cowboys wide receiver Amari Cooper. They've been using him to travel the last three weeks. If you can put Will on Cooper, have Darius on Michael Gallup and have an experienced guy like Mackensie Alexander on rookie CeeDee Lamb in the slot, I think they match up pretty well. And if you can force Andy to go to second and third reads and not get the ball out so quickly I think we'll see ends Carl Lawson and Sam Hubbard maybe get home more than they have.
THE EDGE: I don't think the Bengals have enough firepower to move the ball consistently enough and if you're not going to have Brandon Wilson to give you a couple of short fields on kick return that makes it all the tougher. COWBOYS, 24-14
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Media Roundtable: Bengals Hope To Heat Up Dalton's Return - Bengals.com
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