It’s better to be lucky than good, as the Seattle Seahawks can attest. Despite playing very poorly – especially on offense – against the Detroit Lions on Monday night, the Seahawks (2-2) still came away with the big win thanks to Kam Chancellor’s heroics (and a horrible “Fail Mary”-esque blown call).
However, the two-time defending NFC champions might not be as lucky again as they travel to Cincinnati to face the still-unbeaten Bengals (4-0). Andy Dalton is looking like a legit MVP candidate through the first month of the season, but can his fine play continue against the Legion of Boom?
Read on for our complete preview of one of Week 5’s most intriguing matchups. For everything you know about Week 5’s other top games, check out our previews for the Rams vs. Packers and Patriots vs. Cowboys.
[sc:Football ]Seattle Seahawks vs. Cincinnati Bengals Preview
Where: Paul Brown Stadium, Cincinnati
When: Sunday, October 11, 1:00 PM ET
Line: Seattle Seahawks (+3) at Cincinnati Bengals (-3); total: 43.0 – view all NFL lines
TV Broadcast: FOX
Betting on the Seattle Seahawks
The Seattle Seahawks got away with one. It took a clutch forced fumble from Kam Chancellor on Calvin Johnson (with the help of a missed call on a blatant illegal bat) for the Seahawks to secure the 13-10 win at home against the Lions on Monday night.
[sc:NFL240banner ]It got to that point because of a highly ineffective Seahawks offense. The offensive line, which has struggled all season, was run ragged by the Lions, and forced Russell Wilson to eat six sacks. To Wilson’s credit, he still managed to go 20-of-26 for 287 passing yards with a touchdown, which was a tremendous feat given all the constant pressure he was under, and scrambled for 40 yards on the ground.
With Marshawn Lynch unable to play because of a hamstring problem, the Seahawks couldn’t get much going on the ground apart from Wilson’s scrambles. Thomas Rawls averaged just 2.8 yards per carry as Fred Jackson left with an ankle injury.
The Seahawks will hope to have Lynch back against a very solid Bengals run defense that’s allowing just 85.3 rushing yards per game this season. If Lynch can’t go, though, they could very well continue to struggle moving the ball with any consistency in Cincy.
The Seahawks defense, though, remains as fierce as ever. In two games with Chancellor back from his holdout, the Seahawks have given up just 10 total points and 402 total yards of offense. The total has gone under in the Seahawks’ last three games.
While the Bengals offense has looked very impressive this season, it’s still an Andy Dalton-led team, which is enough to give anyone some pause. If the Seahawks can stop the Bengals on the ground – which they are more than capable of doing – and force Andy Dalton to pass against that stellar Seahawks secondary, Seattle should fancy its chances of forcing a miscue or two.
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Betting on the Cincinnati Bengals
The 4-0 Cincinnati Bengals are just one of six teams remaining with an unbeaten record this year and they looked every bit as good as their record in a 36-21 beatdown of the Chiefs on Sunday.
Andy Dalton continued his spectacular start to the season with 321 passing yards on 71 percent completion. Through four games, Dalton is second only to Aaron Rodgers in terms of passer rating (123.0) and a fraction behind Ben Roethlisberger in yards per attempt (10.23). He also has nine touchdowns (tied for third) against one interception.
It remains to be seen if Dalton’s uncharacteristically elite play will hold up against a top defense like Seattle, but being at home will definitely help. Cincinnati is 16-3-1 (15-4-1 ATS) in its last 20 home games.
Aside from having an effective running game and a stud wideout in A.J. Green, Dalton will also have the help of an excellent offensive line that has provided him some terrific protection from the pocket. Dalton has been sacked just twice this season, tied with Ryan Fitzpatrick for the fewest among regular starters. The Bengals O-line held up superbly well against the Chiefs’ notoriously ferocious pass rush.
However, the key to Cincy’s matchup against Seattle will be the Bengals’ own front seven, which sacked Alex Smith five times and held the Chiefs offense to zero touchdowns. After seeing how the Lions just ate up the Seahawks’ terrible O-line, the Bengals should be able to wreak havoc on the Seattle offense by exerting wave after wave of pressure on Wilson.
Marshawn Lynch could make his return from a hamstring injury, but the Bengals have defended the run very well this season. Through Week 3, they were ranked No. 2 in run defense DVOA.
Writer’s Prediction
The Bengals (-3) shut down Seattle’s offense en route to a convincing 27-13 win.
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