Week 5 Preview: Cincinnati Bengals at Arizona Cardinals
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The start of this season has been unexpected for both the Cincinnati Bengals and Arizona Cardinals but for different reasons. For the Bengals, they currently sit at 1-3, last in the AFC North when many expected them to be contending for the Super Bowl. Now when it comes to the Cardinals their expectations weren’t nearly as high, but many thought they would be one of if not the worst team in the NFL. The Cardinals don’t fall in the good team category, but they also aren’t one of the worst teams in the league.
The biggest letdown for the Bengals this season has been their struggling offense. It starts at the top with Quarterback Joe Burrow who is off to a rough start this season. Through four weeks Joe Burrow has a completion percentage of 57.6, thrown for 728 yards, and has two touchdowns as well as two interceptions. Many expected a somewhat slow start from Burrow as he missed most of training camp with a calf injury. The injury does seem to still be affecting him today as he looks limited in his mobility. In addition, Burrow hasn’t thrown any deep balls which is odd for a Quarterback who likes to take shots to his stud wide receivers. With opposing defenses knowing Burrow’s current limitations, it’s stifled the Bengals’ offense and has led to their disappointing 1-3 record.
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Even with the Bengals’ offense being their biggest issue, their defense has underperformed as well. The Bengals have given up 24 or more points in three out of the first four weeks while struggling to stop the run. Through four weeks the Bengals’ defense has given up 628 rushing yards, that’s 157 yards per game. This has resulted in opposing teams dominating time of possession and wearing down the Bengals defense. Many would expect the Bengals to put more in the box to help prevent the run, but their secondary has also struggled. With the loss of Safeties Jessie Bates III and Von Bell during free agency it has changed how they run their defense. The Bengals have allowed 887 passing yards, 221.75 yards per game. This displays that not only is the Bengals’ offense sputtering, but their defense has taken a step back as well.
The area the Arizona Cardinals are most likely to attack is the Bengals’ run defense. Through four weeks the Cardinals’ offense has amassed 574 rushing yards with their lead rusher being Running back James Connor. Expect Connor to have a heavy workload Sunday in hopes of having another great day against a struggling run defense.
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Coming into the year the major question mark for the Cardinals was their offense, specifically Quarterback play. With Quarterback Kyler Murray out for the year with an ACL injury the Cardinals had to find someone to fill that role, where they eventually landed on Josh Dobbs. Dobbs who’s a journeyman was a backup in Pittsburgh for two different stints. He didn’t play much for the Steelers, but when he did, he was serviceable. Now in his first season in Arizona, he's the starter and has played much better than most anticipated. Through four games Dobbs has a competition percentage of 70.7, 814 passing yards, four touchdowns, and zero interceptions. Even with an effective rushing attack and Dobbs off to a solid start, the Cardinals have struggled to put up points in two of their games. In Weeks 1 and 4 the Cardinals offense was held to 16 points. In Weeks 2 and 3 they scored 28 points. So, it’s been a mixed bag of results, contributing in part to their 1-3 record.
This game will more than likely be decided by the play of Joe Burrow. If he’s able to be more mobile and take deep shots it will improve their offense dramatically. Then on the defensive side, the Bengals must figure out a way to stop the run. If the Cardinals can get the running game going it makes Josh Dobbs’ job so much easier, likely resulting in more open receivers. However, if the Bengals can limit the Cardinals rushing attack it will give their offense more opportunities to score while also forcing Josh Dobbs to beat you. Dobbs as mentioned earlier has played well thus far but has the possibility to regress as he’s a career backup.
Ultimately this game contains an added factor when it comes to who needs to win more. It’s most certainly the Bengals. The Bengals came into the season with the expectation that they would be at worst a playoff team. Now after four weeks, they’ve dug themselves quite a hole, and if they lose this game they may not recover. For the Cardinals, they want to win but by no means need to win. This Cardinals team had no expectations coming into the year so even if they finish 5-12, I don’t think this season will be considered a disappointment as they’re looking to build towards the future.
With both teams looking for their second win of the season, it’s likely to be a higher-scoring game with both teams exposing their opposing defense’s weaknesses.
