The Cincinnati Bengals’ perfect season is over. Andy Dalton and co. just couldn’t get anything going offensively as they were shocked at home by the Houston Texans on Monday night. The Bengals are now in danger of their first losing skid of the season as they travel to the desert to face the in-form Arizona Cardinals. The Cards are fresh off a huge road win in Seattle and will be looking to consolidate the No. 2 seed in the NFC.
Read on below for our preview of this Sunday night battle between two division leaders. Meanwhile, check out our previews of Week 11’s other top games, namely the Patriots vs. Bills and Packers vs. Vikings.
[sc:Football ]Cincinnati Bengals vs. Arizona Cardinals Preview
Where: University of Phoenix Stadium, Glendale
When: Sunday, November 22, 8:30 PM ET
Line: Cincinnati Bengals at Arizona Cardinals – view all NFL lines
TV Broadcast: NBC
Betting on the Cincinnati Bengals (8-1)
[sc:NFL240banner ]The Cincinnati Bengals’ dreams of a perfect season were shattered to pieces as they were shocked 10-6 in prime-time by the Houston Texans. With the loss, the Bengals also failed to cover for the first time this season. They’re now 7-1-1 ATS.
Dalton had his worst game of the season, completing just 58 percent of his passes for 197 yards, no touchdowns and an interception. He wasn’t helped by tight end Tyler Eifert, who had three costly drops, and a running game which was held to just 73 yards on 21 carries.
The defense held up its end of the bargain, allowing just 256 yards of total offense, but it did allow backup Texans QB T.J. Yates to throw the lone touchdown of the game.
It’s easy to overreact after such a bad result, but don’t be quick to forget just how good the Bengals were through their first eight games. Dalton, in particular, had been having a career year and came into the game in a virtual tie with Tom Brady for the league lead in terms of passer rating.
Don’t buy too much into the narrative of Dalton being bad in prime-time again, either. Yes, he’s now just 4-8 in his career under the bright lights, but prior to the Texans loss, he had come off a near-flawless three-touchdown performance in a 31-10 win against the Browns on Thursday night.
The Bengals defense can also rise to the occasion, as it did when it limited the dangerous Ben Roethlisberger-led Steelers offense in a 16-10 win on the road. The Cincy D picked off Big Ben three times, and held Antonio Brown to just 47 receiving yards, his lowest output this season with Big Ben playing at quarterback.
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Betting on the Arizona Cardinals (7-2)
These Arizona Cardinals truly are legit Super Bowl contenders. They just recorded their most impressive road win of the season on Sunday night, a 39-32 triumph at Seattle. That’s the most points scored by any team on the Seahawks in the Legion of Boom era. The Cards have now won three games in a row and improved to 6-3 ATS this season.
With the running game hardly at its best, Carson Palmer and the passing game carried the offense as they torched the vaunted Seahawks secondary for 363 yards and three touchdowns. Wide receivers Larry Fitzgerald and Michael Floyd combined for 243 of those yards, with Floyd grabbing two touchdowns. If they can do that to the Seahawks’ defense, it’s safe to say the Cards can pass on pretty much any defense in the league.
The Cards received a scare after Mike Iupati had to be stretchered off with a neck injury. But the star guard is thankfully okay and could even play against the Bengals. Iupati’s return will be a big boost to the running game, which was kept relatively quiet by the Seahawks front. The Cards are No. 8 in the NFL with 123.9 rushing yards per game.
Meanwhile, the Cardinals defense remains one of the best against both the run and the pass per DVOA, and should be able to slow down a Bengals offense that showed its flaws on Monday night against the Texans. The Cards defense has been pretty stingy at home, giving up just 17 points per game (No. 5 in the NFL).
Arizona is a very tough place to play for visiting teams. The Cards are 16-3 in their last 19 regular season home games (13-6 ATS).
Writer’s Prediction
The Cards defense forces another subpar night from Dalton and the Bengals, while Palmer has another big game through the air. Arizona wins, 31-21.
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