Bengals vs Cowboys Week 2: Can QB Joe Burrow Take Care of the Ball Better?

• Last week, Cincy QB Joe Burrow posted 4 INTs, a lost fumble, and was sacked 7 times
• Cowboys QB Dak Prescott (thumb) will now miss games until at least November
• Watch Bengals vs Cowboys live on Sunday, September 18, 2022 at 4:25 PM ET on CBS

Bengals vs Cowboys Odds

Odds taken from Caesars Sportsbook. Click on the links below to head to the sportsbook and place your bet.

Bengals vs Cowboys Pick

The Cowboys have become a hot mess with a backup QB and a weak offensive line so expect the rebounding Bengals to hammer them and cover the spread.

Cincinnati -7.5 (-110)

Bet on Bengals to Cover the Spread

As part of the NFL’s Week 2 schedule this Sunday afternoon, a cross-conference showdown will be happening between Joe Burrow’s Cincinnati Bengals and the Dak-less Dallas Cowboys, two winless teams so far who are looking to recover from an awful Week 1 that rocked their world.

Nobody expected the defending AFC Champion Cincinnati Bengals to start out 0-1, especially given they lost to the depleted Pittsburgh Steelers after a blown PK Evan McPherson field goal attempt, a game where QB Joe Burrow posted 4 INTs, a lost fumble, and was sacked 7 times.

Can’t blame Dallas Cowboys fans if they are nervous about the season given that their starting QB Dak Prescott (thumb) will now miss games until at least November, a blow to a team already bitten by the injury bug after losing starting LT Tyron Smith to a torn hamstring this offseason.

Here are our best predictions, odds, and picks for this game – good luck and win big!

Cincinnati Bengals vs Dallas Cowboys Predictions

Can the Bengals QB Joe Burrow Take Care of the Ball Better?

This is Cincinnati Bengals franchise QB Joe Burrow’s third NFL season but already he is considered one of the elite at his position after taking his team to the Super Bowl last year following an impressive 2021 where he led the league in completion percentage (70.4).

That is why it was so shocking to watch him work in Week 1, his five turnovers a big reason why the Bengals lost that game, those four interceptions and one lost fumble momentum killers that in the end forced an Evan McPherson field goal to decide the game and he missed the kick.

One factor that might help QB Burrow make better choices from the pocket is if his offensive line gave him a bit more time, last week having been sacked a league-leading seven times, a dubious honor that no doubt LT Jonah Williams and rookie LG Cordell Volson take personally.

Can the Cowboys Offense Succeed Without Dak?

Now the Dallas Cowboys are once again without their starting QB Dak Prescott (thumb) who banged his thumb on an opposing helmet during Week 1, an injury to his throwing hand that will require surgery and at least a couple of months of recovery, a November return the most likely.

Last season, Prescott played in 16 games and went 11-5 as the starter and took his Cowboys to the postseason, but now the starting job will be up to backup Cooper Rush, a pro since 2017 when as an undrafted free agent he made the roster as the Cowboy’s third-string quarterback.

Rush is 1-0 as a starter and he has completed 38 passes off 63 targets for a 60.3 career completion percentage generating 488 yards of passing offense and 3 TDs with just one interception, his main goal now being to stay alive behind the Cowboys’ depleted front line.

Bengals Key Player: (WR) Ja’Marr Chase

The 2022 NFL season started out just find for Bengals deep threat receiver Ja’Marr chase, his second year in the pros beginning with a loss to a division rival, the Pittsburgh Steelers, a game in which Chase caught 10 passes off 16 targets for 129 yards and a TD, his longest a 24 yarder.

Last season, Chase was the NFL’s Offensive Rookie of the Year and the Pro Bowler and Second team All Pro is expected to follow that up with an even bigger season for HC Zac Taylor who no doubt wants his young team to experience another Super Bowl from the winning side.

Chase is a 6’ 0” 201 pound receiver with elite speed who can run the 40-yard dash in 4.34 seconds, so he draws immediate attention from secondaries who assign double teams to him which frees up the rest of the field for his fellow talented targets, Tee Higgins and Tyler Boyd.

Cowboys Key Player: (RB) Ezekiel Elliott

One positive that the Dallas Cowboys can take out of their Week 1 loss to the Bucs is the performance of RB Ezekiel Elliott whose reputation as a playmaker has come into question as his contributions began to lessen while partner RB Tony Pollard’s stats kept getting better.

Against Tampa Bay, Zeke carried the ball 10 times for 51 yards averaging a respectable 5.2 yards per carry, his longest a 7-yard run so he could use a couple of breakaways this week, as well as a few receptions since the one catch he made last week off two targets, lost three yards.

This is Elliott’s seventh NFL season and his goal is to no doubt get back to the kind of production he generated in his first three pro seasons, especially now that his starting QB is out, this week facing a Bengals defense that kept the Steelers to just 75 yards on the ground.

How to Watch Bengals vs Cowboys