Dallas Cowboys vs Cincinnati Bengals: Know Thy Enemy

What We Think The Bengals Defensive Game Plan Will Be

Much like the Tampa Bay Buccaneers defense, Cincy is focused on stopping the run and forcing teams to pass, which allows their playmakers in the secondary to get their hands on the football. Last week, the Bengals held the physical rushing offense of the Steelers to just 75 total rushing yards. They may have lost the game but it wasn’t because of their defense which had to try and overcome five Steelers offensive turnovers.

So what should we expect to see from the Bengals defense this week? A lot more of the same with their focus being on stopping Ezekiel Elliott and Tony Pollard on the ground and attacking the Cowboys’ offensive lineman with edge rushers and blitzing linebackers and safeties to aggressively attack a Cowboys offensive line that is in flux thanks to the injury to Connor McGovern in last weeks game.

Backup quarterback Cooper Rush will also have to be on the lookout for safeties Vonn Bell and Jessie Bates III who are very good at reading the quarterback’s eyes and getting interceptions on plays in the middle of the field.

You can also look for them to attack rookie left tackle Tyler Smith with twists and stunts to try and confuse the young lineman who played well in his first start last week. They will also go after right tackle Terence Steele after turning on the tape and seeing how poorly he played last week. Defensive Ends Sam Hubbard and Trey Hendrickson are going to have plenty of opportunities to put pressure on Rush going against Steele on Sunday. They will need to in order to keep this Cowboys offense in check.

Cowboys vs Bengals Week 2: history, key players, projection

The Dallas Cowboys host the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 2. What was a top quarterback matchup has suddenly turned sideways. Here is an outlook on the game.