NFL Football: Cincinnati Bengals vs Dallas Cowboys Prediction, Odds and Preview - 09/18/2022

 

Game Time: 4:25 PM EDT,  Thursday, September 18th, 2022

Venue:  At&T Stadium, Jerry’s World, Grapevine, Texas… The World’s Largest domed structure… but it’s no Sofi.

Where to Watch: CBS, Paramount+... isn’t this fun?  We can stream it for money and watch the same commercials as the free network broadcast!  The future is almost here.

 

FanDuel:  Bengals -7.5, 41.5 O/U

BetMGM: Bengals -7.5, 41.5 O/U

PointsBet:   

Bengals: 0-1 tied for last place AFC

Dallas: 0-1 tied for last place NFC

Wow!  Just wow!  The matchup between last season’s Super Bowl loser and last season's highest scoring team was supposed to be great! Instead it is two winless teams facing off in a search for their first win… The good news is 1 of these teams will win.  The bad news is the other team will be in a world of hurt.  Everyone will tell you it is a long season… and this season especially so because of the new extra regular season game (which represents billions of dollars in TV revenue over the next decade) however you can not ignore the awfulness of going 0-2 for anyone with these types of expectations.

The Cincinnati Bengals are a great young team… that is still building.  They have a powerful young leader in QB Joe Burrow who unfortunately had appendix surgery in the offseason and may still be warming up.  Hopefully his magic was not actually stored in his now missing appendix (weirder things have happened).  The Bengals lost to the Steelers in game 1 of the season 23-20 in overtime.  QB Joe Burrow, the hero of last season, turned the ball over 5 times in the season opener and took seven sacks.  He was obliterated by Steelers Pass rusher TJ Watt… and for that blistering TJ Watt left the field with an arm injury that may end the next two months of play for him… if not the whole year.  Joe Burrow finished the game 53-33 passing with 4 interceptions and 2 TDs.  He had a terrible game… which is not new.  The guy had 3 terrible games last season on his way to the Super Bowl… so not all is lost. His first game rating is 61.7, a stark contrast to last season’s 108.3.  Still this team has the immediate benefit of the doubt based on last season’s performance.

The Dallas Cowboys have welcomed in an era of doom and gloom.  It should last a long while.  Over the last 2 seasons the Cowboys have hemmed and hawed at what type of extension QB DaK Prescott should be given, after all they royally screwed up the Ezekiel Elliot extension by simply giving him too much money.  After a long back and forth they caved and gave Dak the BIG Bag… and in Game 1 he broke a bone in his hand, next to the thumb joint and will need surgery… but that injury happened after he had almost completed his worst professional game.  Dak is one game into his 40+ million dollar a year extension and he was bad… and then he is out for 4-8 weeks with an injury to his throwing hand that will require surgery.  This should be a glaring RED LIGHT to the entire league… the reason the Cowboys did not want to give Dal the money was they don’t think he is that good… Then Dak has a terrible game with a depleted roster (all because of his cap hit) and the Cowboys lose the game… and him.  I’m told he will make roughly 18 million dollars for holding a clipboard… if and only if he returns early from injury.  So the red light is obvious… if you don;t really love him… don’t pay… move on and resign the studs that would have to leave because of his money… then give that roster to Geno Smith or whoever… and draft another quarterback.  That leaves what the Dallas position is in this upcoming game… They will start Cooper Rush?  And?... And the spread is only 7.5.  7.5 is my personal O/U number on interceptions. The Cowboys lost to Tom Brady… lots and lots of teams have done that… but it was never close and never in contention.  And now 40+ million dollars will be sitting on the sidelines while Copper Rush takes snaps.

 

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The Bengals came out of Game 1 17th in points scored with 20, 5th in yards gained with 432,  5th in passing yards with 299, and 10th in rushing yards 133..

The Cowboys came out of Game 1 ranked LAST in points scored (32nd) with only 3, 30th in tards gained with 244, and 28th in passing yards, and 27th in rushing yards… They had no offense to speak of… and their Big Mooney quarterback is gone for the next month or two… or three (no one is talking about that option).  

The Bengals defense came out of Game 1 ranked 6th in yards defended by only giving up 267, 9th in passing yards defended by only giving up 192, and 7th in rushing yards defended by only giving up 75… the problem of course was the 21st ranking in points scored by allowing 23.  They lost… a good defense can not overcome that many interceptions and sacks allowed on the offense.  

The Cowboys defense came out of Game 1 ranked 15th in total yards allowed by giving up 347, 11th in passing yards allowed with 195, and a sad 25th in rushing yards allowed with 152.  The saving grace for this defense is a top-ten ranking (9th) in points allowed with only 19… but since the game was never if not rarely in question… who cares?

 

Our prediction for Sunday, September 18th is…. Bengals 31 - Cowboys 9

 

Bet on the zBengals big… they are giving you an awkward spread.. But remember that Cooper Rush is the quarterback for the Cowboys and he has no line and no weapons. It is worth it to have to win by 8 points to get the return of a well placed bet.  Still I think the Cowboys are good for 3 field goals.

 

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Cincinnati is 2-1 ATS as a road favorite the last 3 seasons.  They have rarely been a road favorite until Joe Burrow.

Dallas is 18-17 ATS in all games the last 3 seasons.  They have a habit of losing games when Dak is out.

 

Bengals: WR T Higgins Quest ** LS C Harris Out ** TE D Asiasi Quest ** 

Cowboys:

 

Bengals: QB Joe Burrow- Can he get out of the 7 sacks and make a few more plays?... His offensive output was fantastic last week in the loss.. The turnovers and sacks were disastrous.

Cowboys: Cooper Rush- A backup thrust into the spotlight.  He has not played effective football in the pros and he will have to throw against the defense that saw the Super Bowl last season.  What could go wrong?

 

Bengals: QB Joe Burrow, HB Joe Mixon, WR Ja’Marr Chase, WR Tee Higgins, TE Hayden Hurst, TE Drew Sample, LT Jonah Williams, LG Cordell Volson, C Ted Karras, RG Alec Cappa, RT La’el Collins

Cowboys: QB Cooper Rush, RB Tony Pollard, WR Noah Brown,. WR CeeDee Lamb, TE Dalton Schultz, LT Tyler Smith, LG Connor McGovern, C Tyler Biadasz, RG Zach Martin, RT Terence Steele

 

The weather does not matter in the worlds biggest domed structure… however… while Cooper Rush is bussed in or drives to or hails a cab… if it is cloudy he will feel the omnipresent spirit of defeat.  He has nop business being the starting QB for a major franchise with a thin offensive line.. Against last season’s angry Super Bowl loser.  He will feel it.. It will crush his soul. With that said it will be Sunny, 94*humidity 53%.  The sweat rolling off Jerry Jones as he re-reads and re-reads Dak Prescott’s contract will account for half of all that humidity.  Remember when Jerry Jones was pulled over by Dallas police (his driver) for speeding he yelled “we are going to church!”  and he thought that was enough to let him through… the same will happen here.  Dak’s contract combined with Ezekiel Elliot’s has buried this decade.