Andy Dalton and Matt Ryan had their guns blazing last week, but failed to carry their teams to victories. They will give it a go again this coming Sunday, when the Cincinnati Bengals and the Atlanta Falcons engage in a showdown between two teams looking to get back in the win column. Will the Bengals give the Falcons back-to-back losses in Atlanta? Or will the Falcons deal Cincinnati its second loss of the season.
The Bengals have themselves to blame for their 31-21 loss to the Carolina Panthers on the road last Sunday.To be more precise, Andy Dalton is definitely ruing his performance in that game. After two solid outings in guiding the Bengals to a 2-0 start this season, Dalton fell back to Earth in the Carolina game, as he threw four interceptions, which were all of Cincinnati’s turnovers in the contest. Dalton did pass for 352 yards and two touchdowns, though, so that’s still worth keeping in mind when thinking of fading the Bengals. The Bengals obviously missed running back Joe Mixon, who is out for at least a few weeks to recuperate from a recent minor knee surgery, as they pumped up just 66 rushing yards against Carolina. For the meantime, they will have Giovanni Bernard taking on the lead role in the backfield. Bernard had 61 yards and rumbled for a touchdown on 12 carries last week. Bernard and the pair of Tyler Boyd and A.J. Green can take advantage of Atlanta’s soft defense that is allowing over 400 yards per game through the first three weeks of the season.
The Bengals are 4-2 ATS in their last six road games.
Betting on the Atlanta Falcons (1-2)
Add Sunday’s 43-37 loss to the New Orleans Saints at home to the bad overtime memories of the Atlanta Falcons. Despite a Matt Ryan explosion in the pocket, the Falcons were unable to beat Drew Brees, as company, thanks to an incredibly porous defense. Ryan went off for 374 passing yards and five touchdowns with zero picks on 26-of-35 completions, but what he giveth, his team’s defense taketh away, as evidenced by the final score and the fact that Brees had 396 passing yards and even scored two rushing touchdowns. Cincinnati can be deadly on offense, but their defense can be abused, too, so Ryan can look forward to having another big game in Week 4. Hopefully for Atlanta, it can get back starting running back Devonta Freeman, who missed the matchup with the Saints with a knee injury. In case Freeman sits out again, Tevin Coleman will lead the team’s backfield against Cincy. Rookie wide receiver Calvin Ridley had his NFL breakout game against the Saints, racking up 146 receiving yards and three touchdowns on seven receptions.
The Falcons are 3-1 ATS in their last four home games.
