Bengals vs. Cowboys Prediction
The Cincinnati Bengals look to pick up a road cover and slow down the surging Dallas Cowboys when the two meet today at 4:25PM ET.
According to the oddsmakers at BetDSI, the Bengals are a slim favorite on the road, as they are getting odds of -2 point against the Cowboys. The over/under total for the game is listed at 45 points. Dallas has won five of the last seven meetings with Cincy, but the Bengals are 4-2 against the spread in the last six against the Cowboys.
The Cowboys are now 3-1 on the season and 3-1 against the spread following a 24-17 win at San Francisco last week. Despite injuries to Tony Romo and Dez Bryant, the Cowboys are moving right along on offense, averaging 25.3 points and 402 yards per game thanks to a pair of rookies. Ezekiel Elliott has rushed for 412 yards and three touchdowns while Dak Prescott has thrown for 1,012 yards and three touchdowns. Defensively, Dallas is allowing just 19.3 points and 365.8 yards per game. However, the Cowboys are a bit suspect against the pass, giving up 271 yards per game.
The Bengals are off to a 2-2 start following a 22-7 win over the Dolphins last week. Cincinnati is also 2-2 against the spread this season. Last week the Bengals returned to being a defensive power, holding Miami to just 222 total yards. For the season, Cincy is giving up an average of 20.5 points and 334.8 yards per game. The unit has racked up nine sacks this season to go with six turnovers. Offensively, the Bengals are averaging 19.5 points and 389.3 yards per game. The scoring total could be better but red-zone struggles are hurting Cincy right now. They were hoping that would be better starting this week with the return of Tyler Eifert, but the tight end suffered a new injury that has him out for this game. Despite the loss of Eifert this season, Andy Dalton has still thrown for 1,234 yards, but only has three touchdowns. A.J. Green has two of those scores to go with 32 receptions for 468 yards.
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The Bengals looked like the defense they used to be last week and that should come in handy this week against the Cowboys. Cincinnati should be able to keep Elliott from having a big game, which will force Prescott to have to beat a veteran secondary. Offensively, Cincinnati has moved the ball, it just needs to find ways to finish drives. I think the Bengals can do that today in Dallas and cover the spread.
NFL WEEK 5 PREDICTION: CINCINNATI BENGALS -2.5