Cincinnati Bengals Vs. Dallas Cowboys: Bold Predictions For Week 5 Of 2016 NFL Season
The Cincinnati Bengals and Dallas Cowboys will be going head-to-head in Week 5 of the 2016 NFL season. While Dallas has been racking up the wins left and right, Cincinnati will provide quite the test. The Bengals have, for all it’s worth, made the playoffs five years in a row now.
That aside, it might be time to buy into the Cowboys. They currently have a 3-1 record and are winning football games with a rookie quarterback. Dak Prescott has yet to throw an interception and seems to be getting better every game. Meanwhile, Ezekiel Elliott is starting to live up to the massive expectations that have surrounded him ever since he was drafted No. 4 overall. It will be interesting to see what Dallas does when Tony Romo is healthy, but the Cowboys can cross that bridge when the time arrives.
Cincinnati has already dropped two games on the season, but those losses came against the Pittsburgh Steelers, a trendy Super Bowl pick, and Denver Broncos, the defending Super Bowl champs. The Bengals are coming off of a 22-7 victory over the Miami Dolphins.
The Bengals enter this battle by being ranked No. 10 in ESPN‘s power rankings. Dallas currently holds the No. 11 ranking in the same poll.
The storylines are running wild entering this Week 5 contest, and fans might as well let the bold predictions storm the scene as well.
Ezekiel Elliott Takes Another Step Forward With 200-Yard Game
Ezekiel Elliott is coming off of a masterful performance, but he is going to take it to another level against the Bengals. Elliott rushed for 138 yards and one score against the San Francisco 49ers in Week 4, and he dropped 140 yards the week before against the Chicago Bears.
Believe it or not, he leads the NFL with 412 rushing yards. How’s that for a rookie?
The Ohio State product will remind everyone why he was drafted No. 4 overall by dropping at least 200 yards in the rushing department. Fans can’t forget that bold is the name of the game, and Elliott is truly capable of greatness.
A.J. Green Continues To Rack Up Monster Performances
Speaking of being capable of greatness, A.J. Green has the third-most receiving yards in the NFL with 468. Green had 173 receiving yards last game alone, and he started the season off with a bang by dropping 180 receiving yards in Week 1.
Surely, Cincinnati quarterback Andy Dalton will be looking for Green early and often on Sunday.
Dallas Captures The Home Victory, Becomes A Serious Playoff Threat
How many people thought the Cowboys were going to be relevant without Romo this season? Well, they are, and they are on the verge of starting the season off with a 4-1 record.
Dallas is riding a three-game winning streak into this contest. Players like Prescott and Elliott are likely gaining more and more confidence, which could spell doom for the rest of the league in no time.
Prescott has yet to throw an interception in his young career, and he now has three passing touchdowns to his name (two came last game). The 23-year-old has gotten off to an impressive start, and it doesn’t hurt that he has weapons like Dez Bryant on his side. With that in mind, it remains to be seen if Bryant will be taking the field or not.
“Dez Bryant’s hairline knee fracture kept him out of the Cowboys’ Week 4 win over the San Francisco 49ers, and NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported Sunday the injury could keep him out one to two weeks,” according to NFL.com.
Cincinnati is more than capable of winning this game — this is the NFL, after all — and making the playoffs, but dropping three contests in the first five of the season certainly wouldn’t look good on paper.
Soon, the Dallas Cowboys will have a big decision to make when Romo is healthy. For the time being, Prescott & Co. will continue to do work, which will lead to Dallas starting 2016 off with a 4-1 record.
[Featured Image by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images]
