Cowboys vs. Bengals: SportDFW Predictions
Last week, the Dallas Cowboys beat the freefalling Philadelphia Eagles who were without their starting QB and RB, but it was a win nonetheless. In addition to the recent news of DT Josh Brent’s arrest, and the death of practice squad player Jerry Brown, the Cowboys are facing a Cincinnati Bengals team that have won their last four games. The Cowboys are still just one game behind the 1st place New York Giants and tied with the Washington Redskins for 2nd in the division. A win this week in Cincinnati would put the Cowboys above .500 and keep playoff hopes alive, the SportDFW staff’s predictions:
Brady Parker:
Dallas Cowboy fans, I still believe our Cowboys are on the outside looking in. Making the playoffs will be difficult to say the least.
Dallas played a good game so to speak against Philly. Still, the special team let up and allowed a 98-yard TD on a punt return. The Oline is bad and LT Doug Free is being beat like a drum. That said, the return of DeMarcus Murray is HUGE. If the Cowboys can get Murray going early and force the Bengals to put 8 in the box, it very well could be a long night for the Bengals and a good night for Romo and company. Dez Bryant has started to play well enough to inspire some Pro-Bowl talk, so that is another plus for our Dallas Cowboys.
However, don’t take the Cincinnati Bengals lightly, they are an up and coming football team, they have won four in a row,and Andy Dalton is going to be a top notch QB in the NFL for years to come.
The Cowboys’ defense will need to keep pressure on Andy Dalton and force some turnovers if the Cowboys are to win on the road.This is an extremely difficult game to predict, but I will take the
DALLAS COWBOYS in a squeaker….
Cowboys 31 – Bengals 28
Erasmus:
This week my travels took me to series of remote and largely uninhabited islands in the Atlantic, just northeast of New England and then Prince Edward Island. These islands have very few roads, and some don’t even have electricity. The people who do reside here are Native Americans who move from island to island frequently. They seem to live a traditional lifestyle of foraging and hunting, which requires them to move from one island to another whenever the weather or lack of game requires it. Anyway, we canoed to the main island where a large group of extended families were gathering for a powwow. After sitting and watching the drumming, singing, and dancing, I was finally permitted to enter the ‘sweat lodge’. It seemed like I as in there for days, but eventually I was permitted to stumble back out into the light of day. It took me several minutes to gather my senses, at which time I remembered the purpose of enduring all these hardships: the Dallas Cowboys. After promising that I had no recording devices or cameras, they led me to the Council of Elders. I explained to the Elders that I had been travelling the world seeking ancient wisdom, and then I finally asked, “Will the Dallas Cowboys beat the Cincinnati Bengals this week”? They gave me a wineskin about half full, told me to walk to the top of the mountain in the distance, drink all of the liquid in the skin when I got there, and then I would know for myself. I never made it to the top of that mountain, but I did drink the elixir they gave me, and it did give me visions of the future. I saw, amongst other things, Dallas Cowboys Tony Romo hoisting the Lombardi Trophy. For a full and complete account of the many other things that will happen after the Dallas Cowboys win the Super Bowl, please click here.
Nathan Stacken:
Of course, the actual game doesn’t matter nearly as much in the grand scheme of things following the death of practice squad linebacker Jerry Brown and the arrest of Josh Brent for intoxicated manslaughter. This is a toss-up game. The Dallas Cowboys need to win to keep their playoff hopes alive, but so do the Bengals. The Cowboys started off slow last week against the Eagles, and they can’t afford to do that against the Bengals. The better team right now is the Bengals, though it will not shock me if the Cowboys win.
Cincinnati Bengals 24 – Dallas Cowboys 17
Justin Brumit:
The Cowboys won last week but it was against a terrible team and it wasn’t that impressive. I think the Bengals are better than they’ve played this season and have a potent passing game with Andy Dalton and AJ Green, two guys who I expect to have big games against Dallas’ under performing secondary. The offense finally looked like it clicked last week after getting Demarco Murray back, so that is something that will give the Cowboys hope, but I believe they will ultimately lose to a better team effectively ending the Cowboys playoff hopes.
Cincinnati Bengals 31 – Dallas Cowboys 24
C. Joseph Wright:
When I look at the important match-ups in the game between the Dallas Cowboys and Cincinnati Bengals, the thing that sticks out is that the Cowboys are outmatched in the trenches on both sides of the ball. The Bengals lead the NFL in sacks, and the Cowboys offensive line has been playing poorly all year. The idea of the inexperienced LT Jeremy Parnell protecting Tony Romo’s blindside makes me worry for his physical safety, although there was some talk this week out of Valley Ranch about Parnell and RT Doug Free switching sides this week. Given the way speed-rushers have been blowing by Free on the right side, it seems unlikely that switching him to LT will solve many problems. On the other side of the ball: the Bengals have a very good offensive line that almost always gives QB Andy Dalton time to survey the field and then comfortably deliver the football; the Cowboys have struggled to mount a consistent pass-rush all year. If NFL contests are won in the trenches, the Bengals should emerge victorious.
That being said, I refuse to pick the Dallas Cowboys to lose, so I am predicting that one of the Cowboys offensive stars (Tony Romo, WR Dez Bryant, or RB DeMarco Murray) put this team on their backs and manage to pull out a victory. (This is why I don’t bet on football anymore.)
Dallas Cowboys 28 – Cincinnati Bengals 21
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