NFL
By: Jalen Willingham
The Cincinnati Bengals will take on the Dallas Cowboys in Week 2 of the 2022 NFL Season. This is the 14th time these 2 teams will meet. The Cowboys lead the series 9-4.
When: Sunday, September 18th
Time: 4:25 pm
Network: CBS
Offense
In week 1, the Bengals offense got dominated and the offensive line got punched in the mouth. You simply could not have asked for a worse start out of Cincinnati’s new and “improved” offensive line. They gave up 7 sacks, 11 quarterback hits, 18 pressures, and 2 fumbles total. Overall, T.J. Watt, Cameron Heyward, and the Steelers defense simply had their way with them. The question that remains now is how will the Bengals offensive line respond? Is there hope for better days moving forward or should Joe Burrow expect to get killed every week. The good news is that the Dallas Cowboys pass rush is nowhere near as dominant as Pittsburgh. Cowboys Linebacker Micah Parsons did have 2 sacks against the Buccaneers, however. Demarcus Lawrence is not to be trifled with either. It wouldn’t surprise me if pressure comes through rookie offensive guard Cordell Volson. I need to see improvement from tackle La’el Collins against his former team. The key matchup for both sides will be wide receiver Ja’marr Chase versus cornerback Trevon Diggs. It’s very easy to hate on Diggs in his young career, but his ball skills cannot be ignored. Tyler Boyd and Hayden Hurst will be available to target in bail-out situations. I’m not sure about Tee Higgins yet. Even if he does play, his concussion should limit him quite a bit. There should be plenty of room to get a solid running game going as well after Leonard Fournette’s 127-yard game in week 1. After the performance that Burrow put up last week, he must be very careful not to repeat that here in Dallas. This should help Joe Burrow rebound significantly to get on track for the season. Cut down the turnovers and I think the Bengals can move the ball and score much easier this week.
Defense
Defensively, you couldn’t have asked for a better game given the circumstances from Cincinnati. They showed up and kept the Bengals in the game. In the past, 5 turnovers versus the Steelers would’ve been a 40-point blowout. In week 2, their job should be much easier. With the unfortunate loss of Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott in the Sunday night matchup against Tampa, Cooper Rush is now suddenly thrown into the mix. Rush has played in a grand total of 11 games in his 5-year career while only ever starting in 1. The Dallas offense could only put up 3 points versus the Buccaneers with Prescott. Now without him, they now face a defense just as formidable if not better. I will say that the Bengals track record with backup quarterbacks is not something to look forward to at all. Mike White from the New York Jets is an example. Tampa Bay got to the Quarterback quite a bit with 4 sacks. Trey Hendrickson and Sam Hubbard can cause a lot of problems on the edge, especially now with the loss of tackle Connor McGovern in Dallas. The Cowboys lack weapons to take the top of a defense. Dalton Schultz should be targeted a lot if CeeDee Lamb continues to struggle to get open. With Dak out, I think Chidobe Awuzie should handle his matchup with Lamb very easily. Running Back Ezekiel Elliot did in fact have 52 yards on 10 carries. He can still run the ball but I expect the excellent Bengals run defense to shut that down.
Result
In recent history, the Bengals have not done well against Dallas. Sunday, I expect that to change. I think Joe Burrow and the Bengals offense will find their rhythm along with another dominant outing by the Bengals defense. A couple of sacks and an interception will have Jerry Jones begging Dak to come back.
Bengals win 34-17
