Bengals vs. Bills Preview and Predictions in NFL
NFL Previews 25th August 2018 By Charles Jay for Scores And Stats
by Charles Jay Scores & Stats on 08/25/2018
The Cincinnati Bengals did not make any earth-shattering moves in the off-season, nor did they change head coaches, so if they are going to make improvements in 2018 it is largely going to have to happen with existing personnel. But is that personnel good enough, namely quarterback Andy Dalton? This team clearly has to come up with some answers, and this is a competitive atmosphere they're in, with the Baltimore Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers in the same division (the AFC North).
For the Buffalo Bills, the situation may have changed with an injury to their quarterback, AJ McCarron. Depending on his status for the short term, the Bills may be forced to accelerate the timetable for their first-round draft pick. So a team that actually made the playoffs last season may wind up looking more like a squad that is starting from Square One.
NFL Game Predictions
These teams will be meeting up on Sunday afternoon at Ralph Wilson Stadium in Orchard Park, NY. Last week the Bills beat the Cleveland Browns 19-17, while the Bengals registered a 21-13 victory over the Dallas Cowboys.
TV: 4 PM ET, Local Coverage, NFL Network (replay). LINE: Bills -1.5. O/U: 41.5.
ABOUT THE BENGALS: On the one hand, it was positive that Cincinnati was able to outscore Dallas 21-3 in the second half for a win at AT&T Stadium. On the other hand, when you are down 10-0 at the half when the first-team players are in the game, that is not an encouraging sign. Cincinnati's ground game produced all of seven yards on six attempts in the first half. Andy Dalton completed five of seven passes, but the guys who really made things happen were the backups. Jeff Driskel threw for 119 yards and Matt Barkley, who has become more or less a career backup, led the team to some fourth-quarter points. It is his performance during these pre-season games that may ultimately catapult Driskel, who originally attended Florida then transferred to Louisiana Tech, into the #2 spot. Defensive tackle Chris Baker, a seven-year veteran, was cut by the team, and that was quite a disappointment for everybody since he had just been signed in the off-season after a year with Tampa Bay. But the Bengals have been very impressed with Andrew Billings, especially in the area of stuffing the run, where Cincinnati was just 30th in the league last season. With Baker's salary upwards of $5 million, he could be a casualty of all this. The Bengals are +850 to win the AFC North division, +4500 to capture the conference title, and +8500 to win Super Bowl 53.
ABOUT THE BILLS: AJ McCarron played through the first quarter of last week's game against Cleveland, but reports were that he had a shoulder injury, and it was even reported in the media that it was possibly a broken collarbone, which would have been a very serious situation. Alas, after some more tests, that news proved to be inaccurate, and the team was reporting nothing more severe than shoulder soreness. He had even come back to practice. Whether head coach Sean McDermott wants him to sustain any more contact in the two remaining pre-season games is another issue entirely. John Allen, the first-round draft pick, will start at quarterback for the team against Cincinnati, and he'll be relieved by Nathan Peterman unless something happens between now and then that would inject McCarron back into the picture. No one has really stood out and snagged the starting job, although the original plan was that McCarron could play a year while Allen acclimated himself to the NFL. But Allen has been good enough that you would have to consider him a viable candidate. He went 9 of 13 last week and took the team on three scoring drives. So his week is being tailored to being with the first team, playing through the first half, making halftime adjustments, and coming out for a series or two. In an emergency, the Bills could always call on Logan Thomas, a star QB at Virginia Tech who has been with three NFL teams and is now battling for a spot at tight end, where he sits on the depth chart behind Nick O'Leary, the grandson of Jack Nicklaus. The Bills are now +1350- to win the AFC East, 65-1 to win the AFC and 125-1 to be Super Bowl champions.
EXTRA POINTS
1. Peterman is 17 for 20, an 85% accuracy rate, and his 127.3 QB rating is best among all NFL quarterbacks with 20 or more attempts in this pre-season.
2. Keenan Robinson, a 29-year-old linebacker who McDermott was hoping could demonstrate some versatility at the position, has retired. He had a history of injuries and was not convinced he could get the job done anymore form a physical standpoint.
3. Bengals' QB Andy Dalton obviously has a special place in the hearts of Bills fans, after he led the Bengals on that last-minute touchdown drive that beat Baltimore in last year's season finale and propelled Buffalo into the playoffs, at long last. Bills' rooters proceeded to pour money into Dalton's charity as a "thank you" gesture.
PREDICTION: Bills 21, Bengals 17
NFL Previews 25th August 2018 By Charles Jay for Scores And Stats
by Charles Jay Scores & Stats on 08/25/2018
The Cincinnati Bengals did not make any earth-shattering moves in the off-season, nor did they change head coaches, so if they are going to make improvements in 2018 it is largely going to have to happen with existing personnel. But is that personnel good enough, namely quarterback Andy Dalton? This team clearly has to come up with some answers, and this is a competitive atmosphere they're in, with the Baltimore Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers in the same division (the AFC North).
For the Buffalo Bills, the situation may have changed with an injury to their quarterback, AJ McCarron. Depending on his status for the short term, the Bills may be forced to accelerate the timetable for their first-round draft pick. So a team that actually made the playoffs last season may wind up looking more like a squad that is starting from Square One.
NFL Game Predictions
These teams will be meeting up on Sunday afternoon at Ralph Wilson Stadium in Orchard Park, NY. Last week the Bills beat the Cleveland Browns 19-17, while the Bengals registered a 21-13 victory over the Dallas Cowboys.
TV: 4 PM ET, Local Coverage, NFL Network (replay). LINE: Bills -1.5. O/U: 41.5.
ABOUT THE BENGALS: On the one hand, it was positive that Cincinnati was able to outscore Dallas 21-3 in the second half for a win at AT&T Stadium. On the other hand, when you are down 10-0 at the half when the first-team players are in the game, that is not an encouraging sign. Cincinnati's ground game produced all of seven yards on six attempts in the first half. Andy Dalton completed five of seven passes, but the guys who really made things happen were the backups. Jeff Driskel threw for 119 yards and Matt Barkley, who has become more or less a career backup, led the team to some fourth-quarter points. It is his performance during these pre-season games that may ultimately catapult Driskel, who originally attended Florida then transferred to Louisiana Tech, into the #2 spot. Defensive tackle Chris Baker, a seven-year veteran, was cut by the team, and that was quite a disappointment for everybody since he had just been signed in the off-season after a year with Tampa Bay. But the Bengals have been very impressed with Andrew Billings, especially in the area of stuffing the run, where Cincinnati was just 30th in the league last season. With Baker's salary upwards of $5 million, he could be a casualty of all this. The Bengals are +850 to win the AFC North division, +4500 to capture the conference title, and +8500 to win Super Bowl 53.
ABOUT THE BILLS: AJ McCarron played through the first quarter of last week's game against Cleveland, but reports were that he had a shoulder injury, and it was even reported in the media that it was possibly a broken collarbone, which would have been a very serious situation. Alas, after some more tests, that news proved to be inaccurate, and the team was reporting nothing more severe than shoulder soreness. He had even come back to practice. Whether head coach Sean McDermott wants him to sustain any more contact in the two remaining pre-season games is another issue entirely. John Allen, the first-round draft pick, will start at quarterback for the team against Cincinnati, and he'll be relieved by Nathan Peterman unless something happens between now and then that would inject McCarron back into the picture. No one has really stood out and snagged the starting job, although the original plan was that McCarron could play a year while Allen acclimated himself to the NFL. But Allen has been good enough that you would have to consider him a viable candidate. He went 9 of 13 last week and took the team on three scoring drives. So his week is being tailored to being with the first team, playing through the first half, making halftime adjustments, and coming out for a series or two. In an emergency, the Bills could always call on Logan Thomas, a star QB at Virginia Tech who has been with three NFL teams and is now battling for a spot at tight end, where he sits on the depth chart behind Nick O'Leary, the grandson of Jack Nicklaus. The Bills are now +1350- to win the AFC East, 65-1 to win the AFC and 125-1 to be Super Bowl champions.
EXTRA POINTS
1. Peterman is 17 for 20, an 85% accuracy rate, and his 127.3 QB rating is best among all NFL quarterbacks with 20 or more attempts in this pre-season.
2. Keenan Robinson, a 29-year-old linebacker who McDermott was hoping could demonstrate some versatility at the position, has retired. He had a history of injuries and was not convinced he could get the job done anymore form a physical standpoint.
3. Bengals' QB Andy Dalton obviously has a special place in the hearts of Bills fans, after he led the Bengals on that last-minute touchdown drive that beat Baltimore in last year's season finale and propelled Buffalo into the playoffs, at long last. Bills' rooters proceeded to pour money into Dalton's charity as a "thank you" gesture.
PREDICTION: Bills 21, Bengals 17
