Dallas Cowboys vs. Cincinnati Bengals Quick Game Preview
We preview the Dallas Cowboys upcoming Week Five Matchup against the Cincinnati Bengals this Sunday at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX.
The Dallas Cowboys are riding a three game winning streak into their Week Five match-up against Cincinnati Bengals in what should be a very evenly matched game. Both teams are in competitive divisions, so despite being in different conferences, this is an important game for both teams.
The Bengals are standing at 2-2 coming off a home win over the Miami Dolphins. Meanwhile, the Cowboys are returning home after showing mental toughness after falling behind big against the 49ers. Despite the level of competition the Cowboys have seen this season, they’ve been very impressive.
Heading into Sunday’s game, both teams have injury reports a mile long. The Bengals star tight end Tyler Eifert suffered from a setback this week and it doesn’t look like he’ll play this week. Cincinnati also has other starters listed on the injury report such as cornerback Dre Kirkpatrick, running back Jeremy Hill, and guard Clint Boling; but they should all see the field on Sunday.
The Cowboys have been missing key players all season, with stars such as quarterback Tony Romo, wide receiver Dez Bryant, cornerback Orlando Scandrick, left tackle Tyron Smith, and defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence have all missed at least one game this season. At least some reinforcements are coming Sunday, with Lawrence’s four-game suspension ending, which should help get pressure on Bengal’s quarterback Andy Dalton.
Speaking of Dalton, he’s played well this season, despite his lackluster numbers. The former TCU standout has had a solid career thus far, and seems to be building off his career best 2015 season. On the other side, the Cowboys have the talk of town at quarterback in rookie Dak Prescott. The only quarterback in the league to go through four games without a turnover this season, he’s been a key part of a rookie-led offense that hopes to continue it’s hot streak.
Speaking of the rookie-led offense, running back Ezekiel Elliott is also taking the league by storm, leading the NFL in rushing yards heading into Week Five. The combination of Prescott and Elliott has the future in Dallas looking blindingly bright, but all rookies take their bumps, and a rookie-heavy team can’t be trusted to perform consistently. However, this offense has shown no signs of slowing down, even without key players like Smith and Bryant.
Looking at matchups, there may not be a more compelling one on one matchup to keep an eye on than Cowboys cornerback Morris Claiborne v.s. Bengals star A.J. Green. Claiborne is beginning to look like the player the Cowboys drafted 6th overall in 2012, meanwhile Green is up to his usual tricks, currently leading the league in receptions, on pace for 128 catches on the season.
Claiborne would be the most pleasant surprise of the Cowboys season if Prescott wasn’t setting the world on fire from under center; but Claiborne has shown massive improvement and may be the best defender on the Cowboys roster.
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As a Cowboys fan, the result of this game is a toss-up. These two teams are very evenly matched and it could swing either way. As a football fan, this game should end up being a fantastic matchup and potentially be the best game of Week Five, hopefully it ends with the Cowboys heading to Lambeau next week at 4-1.