The Dallas Cowboys are hosting the Cincinnati Bengals on Monday Night Football this week. The Bengals are coming off a tough divisional loss at home last week against the Pittsburgh Steelers, 44-38. The Cowboys are coming off a divisional win at home against the New York Giants on Thanksgiving, 27-20.
Despite both teams not being where they want to be at this point in the year, they are still in the hunt for a wildcard spot. Will the Bengals snap their three-game losing streak in Dallas, or will the Cowboys defend home turf for the second straight week and extend their winning streak to three in a row?
Cincinnati Bengals vs. Dallas Cowboys Odds
| Team | Spread | Total | Money Line |
| Cincinnati Bengals | -5.5 (-110) | Over 49.5 (-108) | -235 |
| Dallas Cowboys | +5.5 (-110) | Under 49.5 (-112) | +194 |
| **Odds Subject to Change** | |||
Cincinnati Bengals vs. Dallas Cowboys Match Details
- Fixture: Cincinnati Bengals @ Dallas Cowboys
- Date and Time: December 9th, 2024
Key Stats
Cincinnati Bengals
The Bengals are coming off a tough loss against the Steelers last week. Despite the loss, Joe Burrow played an excellent game. He completed 28 of 38 passes for 309 passing yards, three touchdowns, and one interception. Running back Chase Brown has 100 yards from scrimmage, 70 rushing and 30 receiving, and a rushing touchdown. Ja’Marr Chase was solid with six catches for 86 yards and caught a touchdown. Even though they sit at 4-8 on the season and third in the AFC North, this offense is fifth in points per game, first in passing yards per game, fourth in offensive touchdowns, and eighth in yards per play.
The Bengals’ defense is terrible. They have shown flashes of being solid, but they are flat-out bad. They rank 31st in points allowed per game, 27th in passing yards allowed per game, 22nd in rushing yards allowed per game, 21st in offensive touchdowns allowed, 29th in sacks, and 20th in takeaways per game. Ranking 29th in sacks is horrendous because Trey Henderickson is having a great season. He currently leads the NFL with 11.5 sacks. Despite the bad season, they are going against Cooper Rush and a Dallas offense that has been turnover-prone all season.
Dallas Cowboys
The Cowboys are coming off a great win at home last week against the Giants. Rush did enough to win last week by completing 21 of 38 passes for 195 yards and a touchdown. Rico Dowdle had a career day! He carried the ball 22 times for 123 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown. Luke Schoonmaker stepped up for the second week in a row in the absence of Jake Ferguson with five catches for 33 yards. CeeDee Lamb should look to have a great bounce-back game. He only caught two passes on six targets for 39 yards.
The Cowboys’ defense has been below average this season. They are ranked 29th in points allowed per game, 12th in passing yards allowed per game, 31st in rushing yards allowed per game, 28th in offensive touchdowns allowed, 9th in sacks, and 14th in takeaways per game. Despite the rough season, they are coming off a great day against the Giants. Against New York, this defense had six sacks, five tackles for loss, and forced four turnovers, including a pick-six. Trevon Diggs has missed the past two games with a groin/knee injury that has him questionable for this game.
Prediction
The Cincinnati Bengals are going to pulverize the Dallas Cowboys in this game. This is a bad matchup for the Cowboys. Both defenses haven’t been good all season long. This is one of the reasons why I am taking the Bengals to cover the spread. Burrow has been one of the best quarterbacks this season. Rush and the Cowboys’ offense won’t be able to keep up in this game. If Diggs misses his third straight game, we might see Burrow and Chase hook up for another game of 10+ catches for 140+ receiving yards and a score. The Bengals dominate this game and improve to 5-8 on the season.
